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1 ! V I I:

GAZETTEER ii

BOMBAY PEESIDENCY.

VOLUME VI.

lEWA KANTHA, NARUKOT, CAMBAY,
AND SURAT STATES.

Under Government Orders.

iSomfiag:

FEINTED AT THE

GOVERNMENT CENTEAL,PRBSS.
1880.

/\.\ W^o^

Special acknowledgments are due to Colonel L. 0. Barton
and Bao Bahadur Nandshankar Tuljashankar for very complete
materials for the Rewa Kantha Account. For Cambay Dr. Gr. Biihler,
C.I.E., supplied valuable historical, and Mr. G. F. Sheppard, C. S.,
useful descriptive and administrative, details. The Sachin and
Bansda accounts are from papers contributed by Mr. B. 0. K.
Ollivant, C. S., and Rao Bahadur Keshavlal Nathubhai.

JAMES M. CAMPBELL.
February, 1880.

CONTENTS.

REWA KA'NTHA.

Chapter I.— Description. paob

Position and Area ; Boundaries i Divisions ... ... 1

Aspect ; Mountains ; Rivers ... ... ... 2-6

Water-supply ; Drainage ; Geology ; Climate ... ?.10

Chapter II.— Production.

Minerals ; Trees ; Plants ; Forests ... ... 11-15

Animals ; Birds ; Fish ... ... ... 16-18

Chapter III.— Population.

Census Details ... ... ... ... 19-21

Hindu Castes ; Musalmans ; Parsis ; Christians ... 22-34

Villages ; Dwellings; Communities ; Movements ... 35-37

Chapter IV.— Agriculture.

Soil ; Tillage ; Crops ; Famines ... ... ... 38-40

Chapter V.— Capital.

Capitalists ; Interest ; Craftsmen ; Wages ; Prices ; Weights

and Measures ... ... ... ... 41-45

Chapter VI.- Trade.

Roads; Ferries ; Post ; Exports and Imports ... ... 46-55

Manufactures ... ... ... ... 56-58

Chapter VII.— History.

Legends ; Early Hindus to 1484 ; Musalman Ascendancy
(1484-1700); Local Revival (1700-1730); Maratha
Supremacy (1730-1820) ; British Supervision (1820-1879) ;
First Naikda Rising (1838); The Mutinies (1857);
Second Naikda Rising (1868); Changes (1820-1879) ... 59-66

Chapter VIII.— Land Administration.

Land -holders ; Management ; Villages ; Staff ; Assessment ;
Revenue Survey ; Cesses ; Rent how Realized ; Instal-
ments ; Defaults ; Reforms ; Survey ; Boundary Disputes. 67-76

ii CONTENTS.

Chapter IX -Justice. '*""

Civil ; Criminal ; Courts of Award ; Police ; Jails ... 77-82
Chapter X.— Revenue and Finance.

Rajpipla ; Bariya ; Lunavada ; Sunth ; Minor States ; Cesses. 83 - 85
Chapter XI.— Instruction.

Schools ; Progress (1864 - 18 79) ; Libraries ... ... 86-88

Chapter XII.- Health.

Diseases ; Dispensaries ; Vaccination ... ... 89-90

Chapter Xin.-States ... ... ... ... 91-166

Chapter XlV.-Places of Interest ... ... ... 157-170

NA'RUKOT.

Description ; Products ; Population ; Agriculture ; Trade ;
History ; Administration; Justice; Revenue; Instruction;
Health ; Places of Interest ... ... ... 173-178

CAMBAY.

Chapter I.— Description ; Products ; Population ... ... 181 - 186

Chapter II.— Trade and Manufactures.

Roads ; Trade, Historical Summary of (913-1880) ... 187-197

Manufactures (Agate Ornaments and Cloth)... ... 198-208

Money-lending ; Currency ; Prices ; Wages ... ... 209 - 210

Chapter III. -History,

Name ; Legends ; Balharas (915) ; Anhilvada Kings
(950-1300); Early Delhi Governors (1300-1400);
Ahmedabad Kings (1400-1573) ; Mogbals (1573-1730) ;

Cambay Nawabs (1730-1880)... ... ... 211-233

Chapter IV.— Administration.

Land ; Justice ; Police ; Revenue ; Instruction . . . 234- 239

Chapter v.— Places of Interest. ... ... ... 240-241

SURAT STATES.

Ba'nsda ... ... ... ... ... 245-253

DHAEAMP0R ... ... ... ... ...254-257

Sachin ... ... ... ... ... 258-265

Index ... ... ... ... ... 267-271

EEWA KANTHA

B 561

MTEJfiENCES

IS TtthikaO/lictcmdifaHut.
ft CoUator:s Bvn^alow^^_
& Travellers'^ Do.

'- ^ Madt Road'

a ffiJlFort

M E

) PopuJuJuiii aiom 20.000
2 , beHmm, 7.S00)

&■ MOOO)
^ iebfem 5.000)

& ISOOS T*
4 ■ — be/Mem 2.^00}

&■ s.ooo]

^G>-

>t'£KWAR V-.-' GAe

10 5

Scale of Miles

10 2

Cm^Photap/uo Office Poona, 1878

IRIEWA
SKAHTIEIA

EEWA KA'NTHA.

Chapter I.
Description.

Boundsriet,

CHAPTER I.

DESCRIPTION.

The lands under tlie control of tlie Rewa Kantlia Political Agent
lie between 21° 23' and 23° 33' north latitude and 73° 3' and 74° 18'
east longitude. With an extreme length from north to south of
about 140 miles and a breadth from east to west varying from ten
to fifty, the Rewa Kantha has an area bf about 4792 square miles,
a population of over 500^000 souls or 110 to the square mile, and
yields an estimated average yearly revenue of about £162,710
(Rs. 16,27,100).

' Besides lands stretching about fifty miles along the south bank
of the Rewa or Narbada, the Rewa Kdntha iucludes an irregular
band of territory from ten to fifty miles broad, passing north from
the Narbada about twelve miles beyond the Mahi, and to the
west an isolated strip of land chiefly along the left bank of the Mahi.
It is bounded on the north by the Meywd,r states of Dungarpur and
Bansvada ; on the east by the sub-divisions of Jhalod and Dohad in
the Panch Mahals, Ali Rajpur and other petty states of the Bhopavar
Agency and a part of Khandesh; on the south by Gaikwar
territory and the Mandvi sub-division of Surat ; and on the west
by Anklesvar and Broach, by Gaikwar territory, by Godhra and
Kalol in the Panch Mahals, by Thd,sra and Kapadvanj in Kaira,
and by Parantij in Ahmedabad. The Pandu and Dorka Mehvas
villages detached from the rest of the Agency lie chiefly along the
left bank of the Mahi, between the Panch Mahals and Baroda
territory on the east, and Kaira on the west.

The Rewa Kantha Agency contains six large and fifty-five small Divisiona.
states. Of the large states, one, Rajpipla in the south with an area
of about 1574 square miles, is of the first class, and five, Ohhota
TJdepur and Bariya in the centre, and Sunth, Lunavdda, and
Balasiuor in the north and north-west, are second class states with
areas varying from 400 to 875 square miles. The fifty-five small
states, with an average area of about thirty square miles, include
Kadana and Sanjeli in the north and three groups of Mehva^ or
turbulent villages. Of the three Mehvas groups, Sankheda with an
area of 311 square miles, comprising twenty- two petty estates, lies on
the right bank of the Narbada, while the Pdndu Mehvas with an area
of 138 square miles and twenty-two small estates, and the Dorka
Mehvas nine square miles in extent with three estates, are situated on

B 561—1

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter I.

Descriptiou.

Divisions.

Aspect,

Mountains.

STATES.

the borders of the Mahi. About one-fifth of the whole Eewa Kantha,
comprising nineteen states yielding a yearly revenue of about
£30,000 (Rs. 3,00,000), is, on account of the minority of the chiefs
and from other causes, under the entire control of the Political
Agent. Of the nineteen states under direct management, two
Lunavada and Sunth are second class j the rest are small estates
varying in area from four to 100 square miles. The following table
shows the chief statistics of the different Rewa Kantha states :—

Rewa Kdntha States, 1879.

Density

Estima-

NikME.

Area.

Villages

Popula-
tion.

per
square
mile.

Houses.

tert
revenue.

KadSna

130

100

12,689

3002

lOOO

Sunth

394

B78

49,675

126

11,564

9000

LunivMa

388

437

74,813

192

17,357

12,900

Sanjell

2632

713

610

BSIasinor

189

249

41,984

222

9684

8000

BAriya

813

478

S2,421

12,404

17,600

PAndii and iJoi'ka

Mehvas

147

154

41 ,618

283

10,360

11,200

Chhota Udepur

878

680

62,913

14,,'i06

26,008

Sankbeda MehTis ...

311

326

46,966

111

9674

18,500

EAjpipla

Total ...

1614

691

120,036

23,956

80,000

4792

3434

605,647

106

113,210

183,610

In the outlying villages to the west along the Mahi, and in the
north and south where the district stretches into the Gujarat plain,
the land is open and flat. But along the east border and, except
in the tamer valleys of the Orsang and Heran, over the whole centre
of the district, the country is pal land hilly and forest-clad
yielding little more than the three ' ps ', jpdhn, pdni, and jsan, stones,
water, and leaves.

Though with no high mountains, the Rewa Kantha is a hilly
district. Its two principal ranges are, in the south the Rajpipla
hills, the west-most spurs of the Satpudas the water-parting between
the Narbada and the Tapti valleys, and across the centre of the
district the spurs of the Vindhya range, that running from the flat
topped sandstone crowned table land of Ratanmal, forty miles west
to Pavagad, form the water-parting between the valleys of the
Narbada and the Mahi. "Within Rewa Kantha limits the Rajpipla
hills form a range, bordering the left bank of the Narbada and a
high plateau that stretches from this range south. Except a spur
passing about eight miles north into the Rewa Kantha, the south
range of the Rajpipla hills, that runs parallel to the T^pti, lies
outside of Rewa Kantha limits. The north Rajpipla hills with an
average breadth of about twelve miles covered with rather stunted
timber and stocked with tigers, panthers, bison and other of the
largest sorts of wild game, stretch about forty miles across the south
of Rewa Kantha. In the east the hills, steep and rugged, rise into
difficult peaks. Westwards near Rajpipla the line is from south to
north crossed by the stream of the Karjan and its tributary the Teri,
whose waters join close to the new Rajpipla fort. Beyond this break,
the range lower and less marked, gradually falling into a table-land

Giy'arfit.]

EEWA Ki.NTHA.

stretches west into Broach. On one of the highest peaks, Dev
Satia about 2000 feet above the sea, are the ruins of old
Eajpipla, where in troublous times the chief and his followers used
to take refuge. The way up, diificult even for footmen, through
thick forest and high elephant grass, winds round precipices and
ugly ledges. There are still traces of the former capital and on Dev
Satia immediately behind are the ruins of an old fort. From Dev
Satia the view is wide and beautiful. To the east, ranges of hills
rise in endless confusion, to the south the valley of the Karjan
stretches through the central uplands, to the west the Narbada
winds to the sea, and to the north lies the rich Gujarat plain with
Pavagad on the horizon. Of the south Eajpipla hills the only spur
that comes within Eewa Kantha limits has, unlike the northern
range, sloping sides and flat tops. On the east of the Karjan
river a ridge of hills stretches for twelve miles from north to south,
and to the east of this again lies the Sagbara range 700 feet high,
well wooded and flat topped, peopled by several small Bhil hamlets.
The Vindhya spurs, that lying east and west cross the Centre of the
district from Eatanmal to Pavagad, are steep about 800 feet high,
their tops in some places flat, in others rising into peaks. In the
range are several passes, two of them at Kadval in Udepur and near
Sagtala in Bariya fit for carts. From Eatanmal northwards a
chain of hills or more strictly a line of table-land from 800 to 1200
feet above the sea, the water-parting between the Mahi and the
Anas, forms the boundary between the Eewa Kantha states of
Bariya, Sanjeli and Sunth on the west, and the Panch Mahals
districts of Dohad and Jhalod in the east. This table-land can in
many places be crossed by carts. Besides the chief highway, that
between Godhra and Dohad mounts the plateau about seven miles
west of Dohad, roads run from Bariya, Sunth, and other Eewa
Kantha towns to Dohad, Jhalod and Limdi. Between this table-
land and the range of the Pavagad hills are many irregular
branching timber-covered spurs, steep and high with jagged tops
on the east, growing gradually lower as they pass west, and finally
disappearing in the basin of the Mahi. To the north these spurs,
more regular and unbroken, lying north and south parallel to each
other in ranges separated by narrow valleys, form a link between
the Aravali and Vindhya mountains. Occasionally the traveller
may go for miles along the hill foot without finding an opening, and
in some parts in moving from one village to another has to make
long detours.

Separated by the central line of the Eatanmal and Pavagad hills,
are two distinct river systems, the Mahi with its tributary the Panam
in the north, and in the south the Narbada joined from the right
bank by the Men Asvau Heran and Or or Orsang, and on the left
by the Karjan.

Entering the district in the extreme north-east corner, the Mahi
passes south-west for about 120 miles through Kadana, Lunavada,
and the Pandu Mehvas. Between steep, fifty to eighty feet high,
banks, sometimes rocky but chiefly of clay or conglomerate furrowed
by local drainage into deep ravines, the stream of the Mahi seldom

Chapter I.
Description

MountaiiiB.

Riven.

The Mahi,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter I.
Description.

Kivers.
Q'he Mahi.

The Pdnwm,

The Narliada.

except in floods filling it from side to side, flows along a broad
sandy or stony bed broken at times by islands of rock or ricb alluvial
soil. Dming tbe 120 miles of its Rewa Kantha course^ tbe country
through which the river flows changes from wild forest-clad hills
and cliffs in the east to a flat bare plain in the west. Its deep banks
and in the hot season, its very languid stream, make the Mahi of
little use for watering crops. Its stream is too shallow and its bed
too rocky to allow of water carriage, Ferry boats are its only craft.
Its rich stores of fish are little used,

Of the local tributaries of the Mahi the only one of importance
is the Panam, that rising in the Batanmal hills after a north-west
course of ninety miles falls into the Mahi, six miles west of Lunavada.
Its broad sandy bed between banks generally about forty feet high,
can, except in floods, be crossed by carts at points not more than half
a mile apart. After a course of thirty miles north-west the Panam
enters Bariya, about forty miles east of Pavagad, then after twenty
miles in Bariya it passes through thirty miles of Godhra, its last
eight miles lying in the forest and hill country of Lunavada,

The hundred miles of the Narbada's Rewa Kantha course may be
divided into three parts ; the first about thirty miles south-west from
Hamp to the Dev river ; the second, about thirty miles north-west
through the Rewa Kantha to Chanod ; and the third, forty miles
Bouth-west to Govali about four miles east of Broach,

Prom Hamp to Grardeshvar about ten miles below the Pev river,
through a country of hill and forest, between wooded or steep craggy
banks, the stream passes over a channel too rocky for any craft but
timber rafts. For the next twenty miles to Chanod, though the
right bank keeps steep, the left is low and shelving and the stream
is deep and the channel smooth enough to allow the passage of boats
of not more than two feet draught, Near Chanod, the right bank,
about eighty feet high, is seamed with ravines, the knolls between
crowned with villages. The stream is even in the hot weather deep
and swift, and in floods swelling forty feet above its fair weather
level, it stretches for a mile across the low southern bank. During

1 PolloT^ing the course of the gtream, the details are, after six miles two small
streams joi», the Sukna from the right and the Chibota from the left. Four miles
further (10), through a 200 feet deep passage between sheer and bluff cliffs ajid among
wild and thjckly wooded valleys, the rjver cuts through threp parallel hill ranges that
xrni north to the western A rAvali spurs, A mile ( H ) below the paps is Kad^na, and some
miles further Munpur, both difficult fords. About twenty miles below KadAna (31)
the Bhidar a small stream dry during hajf tlie year joins from the right ; five miles
further (36) at MadhvAs is a steep and difficult ford and nine miles lower (45) a good
ford at Hadod ; about a njile further (46) the Pdnam joins from the south-east ; two
miles lower (48) at Chirqpeli is a diflScult and rocky ford, and another also difficult
^nd rooky at SlAvli (52) ; five miles further (57) the river leaves Rewa Kantha, then
after dividing Raira and ^e Panch Mah^s for fifteen miles (72) is the PAli ford where
the great Qodhra highway crosses, a ford in the fair season and a ferry in the rains ;
then eight miles further (80) a good ford at Itva ; five mjles below (85) Sihora a
difficult rooky passage, where from the left the Meshri from Godhra falls into the
Mahi i one mile further (86) from the left come the united streams of the Goma and
Karad ; then at Bhidarva ten miles lower (96) a ferry ; after six miles (102) the
Bombay Baroda and Central India Bailway crosses ; and thei) for twenty miles more
(122) the river pa,«ses through the west villages of the PAndu Mehvis.

Gnjav&t.]

EBWA KANTHA.

the remaining forty miles the country grows richer and more open,
the banks are lower, the bed widens including islands, and the stream
deep and slow enough for water carriage, is for the last twenty
miles at all times too deep for carts, and for eight is a tidal stream^
a mile and a half broad where it leaves the district.

The chief of the Narbada's Rewa Kantha feeders are from the right
the Men, Ashvin and Or, and from the left the Dev, Karjan, Kari,
Madhuvati, Kaveri and Amrd,vati. Passing down the stream, from
the left the Dev after an eighteen mile course from the Babaka talav
hills falls into the Narbada, about twenty-five miles below Hamp.
The Dev valley is of special interest from its sandstone rocks and
beds of trap ashes. Eighteen miles further, from the right comes the
Men, a small stream with a rugged south. west course of about fifty
miles from the Chhota Udepur hills. Four miles more from the
same side, in size and course much like the Men, conies the Ashvin
and six miles more also from the right, the Or or Orsang. This, the
largest of its Eewa Kantha feeders, rising in the Ratanmal hills after
a south-west course of about ninety miles through Chhota Udepur,
Baroda, and the Sankheda Mehvas, joins the Narbada at the sacred
town of Chanod, With banks from twenty to thirty feet high and a
broad sandy bed, the Or is, except in times of flood, a small stream. In
its passage through the Rewa Kantha the stream running twelve miles
west, takes a sudden south bend and after thirteen miles again turns
sharp north. In this bend stands the town of Chhota Udepur.
Beyond Udepur ten miles to the north-west, the Or is from the right
joined by the Ain, a small stream with its source in the Ratanmal
range. Then after twelve miles west it bends south-west and is joined
on the right or north bank by the Buraj, a small stream also from the
Ratanmal range. Twelve miles further the Baroda boundary is
reached and for twenty-five miles the Or flows south-west through
Baroda till close to the Sankheda village of Bhiloria, it is joined on
its east or left bank by the Heran, This river from Ali Rajpur in
the east, with banks from forty to fifty feet high and a bed divided
by rocky barriers into long pools, may in the fair season be crossed
by carts at every two or three miles. After its meeting with the
Heran for seven miles through the Sankheda estates of Shanor and
Mandva, the Or, shallow in the fair weather, but in floods from forty
to fifty feet deep, passes south between steep banks from sixty to
100 feet high. Its meeting with the Narbada is sacred, thousands,
especially at the Chaitra (April -May) full moon, coming there to
bathe. Four miles below the Or from the south or left bank comes
the Karjan, in size the second of the Narbada's Rewa Kantha
tributaries. This stream, rising in south Rajpipla and flowing north
through the central range of hills, joins the Narbada about six miles
south of the present capital of Nandod. Among the hills its banks,
always steep and rooky, are in places impassable and rocky ridges
stretching across its bed divide the stream into deep dark pools.
Twenty-five miles after it enters Rajpipla limits, the Mohan brings

Chapter I.
Description.

Riven.
The Narbada.

1 The April . May, VaisMkh, springs pass as far as the island of Dev thirteen miles
higher.

[Bom1>ay Gazetteer.

STATE3.

Chapter I.

Description.

Rivers.
The Narbada,

to the Karjan the drainage of the most westerly hills. Thirty miles
further in the centre of the north-most range of hills close to
Eajpipla, it is on the right bank joined by the Teri. Leaving the
hills the Karjan keeps north for six miles and then sweeping to the
west passes Nandod town, and after six miles more falls into the
Narbada near the village of Rund. During its last twelve miles the
river bed is from sixty to 100 yards wide, with from thirty to forty feet
high banks, steep on one side and shelving on the other. Nineteen
and a half miles west of the KaHan also from the south, comes the
Kari a small stream formed by the meeting of several water-courses^.
Eight miles further, off the north end of the Shuklatirth island, comes
the Madhuvati, draining north-west from the centre of the Eajpipla
hills. Ten miles beyond, also on the left bank, the Kaveri, a small
stream with a sandy bed almost dry during the hot season, from one
of the west spurs of the Rajpipla hills, after a winding northerly
course of about thirty miles, falls into the Narbada, four miles east of
the Broach boundary. The last of its feeders, the Amravati rising
in the Rajpipla hills and flowing west parallel to the Kaveri does
not join the Narbada till below Rewa Kantha limits.

The chief islands in the Narbada bed are ; four miles below the
Karjan, Vyasji, nntilled, two miles long by half a mile broad, its
ownership in dispute between Rajpipla and Baroda ; fifteen miles.
lower off the mouth of the Khadi, Div island, a sandy waste, a mile
and a half long by half a mile broad ; six miles below the Khadi, the
Nand island ; six miles further off the mouth of the Madhuvati,
Shuklatirth, four miles long and one broad, famous for its great
Banian tree the Kabir Vad ' ; and four miles more, west of the Kaveri,
an island 3| miles long and at broadest 1 j miles, yearly covered in
times of flood and yielding the finest crops of tobacco, castor-oil and
millet. The chief ferries are at Chanod; at the north end of the Vyasji
island four miles below ; at Patna two miles lower, and in the next
eight miles at Varkal Oli, Sisodra,and Rajpur; one and a half miles
lower at Asha ; and four miles further at Vasna and Indor. Four
miles below Indor is the last place where carts can cross. Except
the islands in its bed and the belt of low land on its left bank
covered in times of flood, the waters of the Narbada are little used
for irrigation. For the first thirty-five miles the channel is too.
rough to allow of any boats but timber rafts, and in the eastern parts
the passage is hard even for them. To the west, boats drawing not
more than two feet ply as far as Gardeshvar about seventy miles from
Broach. The only trade, and that small, is to Sinor about forty
miles from Broach, where a few boats bring salt, iron, and piece
goods, and take timber, bamboos, tobacco, grain, and grass.

Besides by the Narbada and its feeders, Rajpipla is in the west
drained by the Kim and Tokri that, rising in the western hills and
meeting as they leave Rajpipla territory, pass west into Broach, and

1 Details of Kabir Vad are given in the Broach Statietical Account. Boro
Gazetteer, II. 355,

Gujarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

in the south by the Dudan from the Sagbara hills on its way south
to the Tapti.

Though some of its ponds hold water all the year round, the Rewa
Kantha is without any large lakes or reservoirs. Of the number of
wells no return is available. Almost all the better class of villages
have one or two built drinking-water wells supplied with troughs for
the village cattle, and in some cases used for watering the land.
Bhils and Kolis, as the labour is less, draw water from stream beds
rather than wells. The forest parts of the district especially Bariya
and Rajpipla are rich in streams and springs. But the water, though
to look at clear and fresh, is from the quantity of vegetable matter
most unwholesome to drink .^

From the form and lie of the land, water readily passes off along
the different rivers and water-courses. No part of the district
stands in need of artificial drainage.

The Rewa Kantha rocks belong to five classes ; metamorphic,
quartzite sandstone, cretaceous, trap, and nummulite. In the north
and as far south as about eight miles beyond the Or river though
the country has not been surveyed, the rock is believed to be chiefly
metamorphic, a highly crystalline granite or gneiss ^ sometimes
piled in huge dome-shaped masses ^ two or three hundred feet high
with occasional beds of limestone and hornblend. Among the
metamorphic rocks are a few trap and sandstone outliers, and in the
west the granite gradually changes into the quartzite or quartzite
sandstone of the Champaner bed. About eight miles south of the
Or river and running north-east and south-west along a waving
line almost parallel to the course of that stream, the rock changes
from metamorphic to trap. Though in some places trap rests
immediately on metamorphic rocks, a fringe of cretaceous rock known
as Bagh or Mahadev is rarely wanting along its edge. In the west,
covered sometimes with a thick capping of shale, these cretaceous
rocks are generally in the upper part more or less pure limestone
with organic remains,* and below, sandstone without fossils. At
the top just below the trap, the conglomerates and sandstones inclose
iu many cases great masses of uncrystallized flint.* Besides as a
fringe between the trap and metamorphic rocks, beds of this
sandstone varying from a few yards to eighty miles, stand out in
different parts of south Rewa Kantha uncovered by trap. The chief

1 At Ratanpur in Rijpipla, the water is said to tinge everything cooked in it a dirty
yeUow. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 268.

2 Occasional foliation among the granites, and the want of any general distinction
between true granites and the more crystalline forms of gneiss, tend to show that the
granite is an original constituent of the crystalline rocks and not intrusive. Mem.
Geol. Sur. VI. 3, 31.

3 Some parts of BAriya are roughened by off-shoots from the Ratanmdl hiUs, plutonic
and metamorphic rocks, granite, gneiss, mica-schist and clay-slate with a grayish
marble in the valleys. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 93, 114.

i The organic remains are specially rich near KavAnt and on the Dev river, where
are some weU marked species of the Ostrea and shark's teeth. Mem. Geol. Sur.

VI 49
5 These masses of flint are supposed to have filtered through the overlying traps.

Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 56.

Chapter I.
Description.
Water supply.

Drainage,

Geology,

[Bom'bay Gazetteer,

Chapter I.

Description.

(geology.

STATES.

of these sandstone inliers are near Kav^nt about twelve miles south
of Chhota Udepur ; ^ further west between the Heran and the
Narbada; in the bed of the Narbada at Bar and Vadgamj and,
on the left bank of the Narbada, on its tributary the Dev,
where is a capping of shale about 500 feet deep and under it a coarse
gritty sandstone at least equally thick.* There is no evidence of
any great difference in age between the limestone and the trap, and
towards the east there is great conformity between them. But
towards the west the sandstone has been worn away in so local and
irregular a fashion, that it seems to have taken place in the air and
not under the water.

The traps formed of different flows varying greatly in age,^ may
geographically be divided into two groups to the north and to the
south of the Narbada. In those north of the river the chief points
of interest are ; sandstone inliers, beds of trap aSh, and occasional
trap beds sedimentary in origin but different from the lake deposits
of Central India.* Among the traps to the north of the Narbada, at
Padvani about twenty miles south of Chhota Udepur and at
Matapenai hill about twelve miles south-west of Chhota Udepur, are
signs of direct volcanic action. Near Padvani a hill of basalt and
porphyry with quartz fragments, much disturbed sandstones, large
ash beds, and frequent masses of intrusive trap, seems to have been
a centre of igneous action, perhaps part of the great volcanic focus
of the Rajpipla hills.^ The hills of volcanic ash are highly fertile,
often tilled to the top. In this part of the district, Matapenai hill
about twelve miles south-west of Chhota Udepur is a place of
geological interest. A craggy peak of highly crystalline grayish
trachyte scattered over with huge blocks of granite, this hill would
seem to have been the nucleus of one of the Deccan trap volcanoes.
An intrusive mass of trap has carried up with it blocks of granite
and the highly crystalline structure points to slow cooling. The
small veins of granite in the trap are not easily explained.® South
of the Narbada, unlike the general level of the trap beds to the east

1 The details of the most easterly of the Kavdnt iiJiers as shewn in the Kari
stream are, begimiing from the lowest : 1, altered sandstone ; 2, ferruginous gritty
clay ; 3, sandstone ; 4, alternations of fine and coarse gritty sandstone with baoads of
conglomerate and sandy clay ; 5, fine sandstones ; 6, massive grits ; 7, massive fine
white sandstone ; 8, thin sandy shales ; 9, hard coarse grits and conglomerates.
Here a small fault comes and trap is brought in. Trap continues for forty or fifty feet,
then beds similar to the last are repeated and upon them fine massive sandstone with
shaly sandstone resting on it. This is the highest bed seen and is covered with trap.
Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 164.

2 At Padv4ni, about five miles south of Kavdnt, is a little patch of cretaceous rock.
The look of the rocks, the ash beds near, and the trap masses show that this was a
fire centre, perhaps part of the volcanic focus of the B^jpipla hills. Mem. Geol. Sur.
VI. 170.

3 One flow covers a bed of rounded pebbles, many of them taken from former trap
flows. This, it seems probable, is the result of streams hollowing valleys in the trap,
and in the time between different lava flows, partly filling the hollows with rolled
stones and volcanic ash. Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 166.

4 About four miles south of Kavdnt near the village of Chikhli NAni and at GhantoL
about a mile to the west between the trap and the cretaceous rook are beds of
■edimentary trap.

5 Mem. Geol. Sur, VI. 170. « Mem. Geol. Sur. VI, 172.

Gujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

and north, the lines of the Rajpipla traps are much disturbed. The
beds dip at comparatively kigh angles (5°- 20°) and dykes are
commonj some of them of great size, ridges 100 to 150 feet high
close together and parallel to each other with a general direction of
east-north-east to west-south-west. That the rocks have been
disturbed since they were deposited is shewn by the tilting of the
nummulitic beds that rest on them. But they were tilted before
the time of the nummulitic beds, though it is not clear whether this
was due to disturbance or to their original consolidation on a slope.^
The signs of disturbance and the great number of dykes seem to
shew that Rajpipla was, during the time when trap rooks were
poured out, a great centre of volcanic action. Other signs of
volcanic action in south Rewa Kantha are in the Dev valley, the
hardening of the sandstones and the dykes and intrusive masses of
trap. In the south-west corner of the Rewa Kantha near Ratanpur,
the west-most part of the Rajpipla hills is a fringe of older tertiary
beds with nummulite-bearing rocks. The upper part are gravels
and sandy clays with agate pebbles often cemented into a
conglomerate, the lower are bands of sandy limestone full of fossils
and thick beds of iron-charged clay. The fragments of trap and the
rolled agate pebbles show how the trap was worn away while the
tertiary beds were being formed. It seems probable, though present
knowledge cannot settle the point, that these tertiary beds are
of different periods, the lower nummulitic limestone and lateril^
belonging to an earlier epoch than the agate gravels and
conglomerate.^ In the west are the Ratanpur beds, agate gravels
sometimes cemented so as to form conglomerates with bands of
clayey or chalky sandstone.^ Among the agates the only stones of
value are found in a small ferruginous stratum, to the iron in which,
their colour is probably due. South of the Ratanpur stream very
little rock is shewn as far as the Kaveri. In the K^veri, the rock,
except that it has more laterite, is much like that at Ratanpur. At
Vfisna on the Kaveri, Major Full James is said to have found
specimens of nummulitic limestone. But the latest examination
failed to find any limestone stratum and the place may be three
miles south at Vaghalkhor.* Between the Kaveri and the Amravati,
scarcely any rock is seen, the whole country being covered with
alluvium. The banks of the Amravati consist chiefly of trap pebbles
cemented by carbonate of lime with an occasional nummulitic

Chapter I.
Description-
Geology ,

1 Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 58.

2 Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 63. At MAldipur, a little to the south of Eatanpur in
descending order, the series of nummulitic beds is as follows : 1, very coarse
conglomerate ; 2, ferruginous mottled clay ; 3, fine sand with a band of trap pebbles ;
4, conglomerate of trap and agate pebbles ; 5, coarse sandstone ; 6, sandstone ; 7,
limestone ; 8, slightly ferruginous sandstone ; 9, coarse conglomerate of trap pebbles,
Jilem. Geol. Sur. VI. 19S.

3 The following beds are seen in descending order : 1, Calcareous clays ; 2, agate
gravels and conglomerates with fossil wood ; 3, calcareous and argillaceous white
sandstones ; 4, agate gravels and conglomerates with occasional trap pebbles ; 5,
ditto with layers of sand and red iron-bearing clay ; 6, calcareous clays and pale
yellow sandstones with plant remains ; 7, alternations of gravel or conglomerate
sandstone and red lateritoid clay, with occasional bands of clay of various colours and
shales. Each bed represents some hundred feet. It is hard to say if all the beds are
regularly placed one on the other, Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 197.

4 Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 199.
E 561—2

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter I. bed.^ At Vaglialkhor is an interesting section with numerous

Description. fossils, and clear evidence of tlie sedimentary origin of tte laterite.^

Between tlie Amravati and the Kim, laterite and nummulitic limestone

are largely exposed.^ Along the banks of the Narbada and to the

west of the nummulites, the rocks are hid by alluTium.*

Climate. Tbe Eewa Kantha rainy season begins in or about the month of

June and lasts till the end of September. No rain returns are
available but the fall is believed in ordinary years to vary from
thirty-five to forty inches. The cold season begins in October and
lasts till March. In the forest-covered tracts of eastern Eewa Kantha
with large areas of land rich in springs, the cold is about January
sometimes very severe, ice forming «n pools and the crops suffering
severely from frost. In those' parts the mornings keep cool till the
end of April, a cold known from its value to the mahuda flowers as
mahudia tddh or the mahuda chill.* The hot weather lasts from
the middle of April till after a good fall of rain in July. The heat
is sometimes very severe, the thermometer in the shade in Lunavada
and Bariya standing at 108° and 110°. In 1873 the heat was so
great that several people died and bats and monkeys fell dead from
the trees. Healthy in the open parts, the climate of the eastern
hill and forest tracts, especially of Bariya and Eajpipla, is very
sickly.^ The chief diseases are malarious fever, eye and skin
complaints, diarrhoea, and dysentery. Fever, present throughout
fhe year, is commonest in September, October, and part of November,
when the waterpools and rank forest growth of the rains are drying
up. Diarrhoea and dysentery, most prevalent in July and part of
August, are due to exposure to the wet and damp of the rains. Bye
affections are common at the beginning of the rains, and skin
diseases, itch, ringworm, and guineaworm prevail throughout the
year, brought on by the bad quality of water used for drinking and
bathing.'

1 Mem. Geol. Snr. VI. 200.

2 The details of the Vilghalklior section are at the base a thick bed of laterite ; next
yellow clay ; then a bed of pipe clay ; next sand passing into limestone abounding in
nummulites, gasteropoda and other fossils ; above the limestone a band of sandstone
and then laterite again containing pebbles. Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 200.

3 Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 201.

4 Colonel FuU James has left the following geological notes of the country from
Chhota Udepur south-west to the limits of Broach : Chhota Udepur to KarAli fifteen
miles south-west, a series of low hills, the rocks mica schist with blocks of quartz and
felspar, KardU black soil and a trap hill ; Kardli to VAsna ten miles north-west,
lightish black loam, a ridge of mica schist, and then deep black loam ; Vdsna to Agar
twelve miles south-west, a line of sandstone hills, a plain of black soil, and a second
ridge of sandstone ; Agar to TalakvAda on the Narbada eleven miles south, no rocks,
black soil ; TalakvAda to Ntodod ten miles south-west, black loam, no rocks ;
along the left bank of the Narbada twenty-seven miles south-west through back loam
cut by local streams. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII, 105 - 109. '

5 The lowest recorded thermometer-readings are 36° and 38°. But cases of frost
are well known.

6 The local belief is, that the climate of the forest or pdl country suits women though
it does not suit men. The men of Sunth on the Ohibota river are, the proverb says, as
lean as monkeys and the women as stout as asses.

7 Report of the Apothecary attached to the Rewa Kintha Agency, dated 10th
July 1875.

Gujarat.]

CHAPTER II.

PRODUCTION.

The Rewa Eantha has a considerable store of mineral wealth.^
Building stone abounds. In the north a rather low class stone ia
found near the Bariya village of Valundi and in the Hadap river,
and further north in Sunth, an easily worked bluish stone, said to
be better than Porbandar, has been much used in Rampur and in
the chief's palace at Sunth. Slabs of a black, soft, and smooth
stone found by Bhils and Kolis iu Sunth are used by barbers for
sharpening their razors ; the part of the hill where they are found
is called the barber's hill; gdnja ghdti. Between Vasna and Agar,
about twenty-five miles south-west of Ohhota TJdepur, a whitish
sandstone found in large slabs would make an excellent paving
or building stone. In the south the limestone of the nummulitic
rocks is well suited for building. There is also near the centre of
the district a good supply of lime from the metamorphic rocks of
Chhota TJdepur, and from the nummulitic rocks in the west. Of
ornamental stone the metamorphic rocks near Ohhota TJdepur yield
four kinds of granite, red, white, grey, and nearly black, and seven
miles north-east of Ohhota TJdepur good specimens of white, yellow,
and grey marble have been found. Of minerals near Jabugam
on the Or river about twenty miles west of Ohhota TJdepur, mica
occurs in considerable quantities. Iron seems to have once been
worked on a large scale along the west limits of the district. Near
Jambughoda about twenty miles east of TJdepur the ground is so
widely covered with slag and scoria as to point to very extensive
iron works. In the south of the district on the west of the village of
Limodra about twenty-five miles west of Nandod are large mounds
of iron slag, evidently from an iron furnace. It contained (1852)
out of 100 parts 53-64 of silica, 5-39 of alumina, 10-49 of lime, 28-96
of the protoxide of iron, and 1-52 loss with traces of magnesia and
manganese. I^urther south at Bhilod near Ratanpur, some good
iron ore has been found, and at Tadkesar not far to the south of the
Eajpipla border, piles of iron slag mark the sites of old furnaces.^
Of precious stones there are the agates and carnelians, for which
since the days of Ptolemy (150) Eajpipla has been famous. The
agates found in the conglomerate and sandstone rocks to the west
of Rajpipla, are supposed to have been originally formed in trap

Chapter II.
Production.

Minerals.

b561h

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 101, 102, 105, 107, 109, 110.
2 Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 3, 216, 218.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter II.
Production.

Minerals.

Trees.

from the soaking iu of water laden with flint, and to have been
brought to their present position during the time when the earlier
trap flows were being worn away.^ Though the stones are found in
trap rocks, amongst the gravels of the tertiary rocks, and strewn
over a considerable area on the surface, the chief workings are
near Eatanpur on the left bank of the Narbada about thirteen miles
east of Broach, where the plain is dotted with small hillocks, the
sites of former mines. The only agates of value are found in a
thin iron-bearing bed, to which they probably owe their special
colouring. The pits, generally about thirty feet deep, are entered
by holes cut in the sides. Under ground the earth is dug in the
ordinary Indian system, of rabbit warren-like holes barely large
enough for a man to get through squatting. The agates are
chipped at the mine, and those thought good enough are taken to
Eatanpur and exposed to the sun. They are then burned and again
chipped, and if properly coloured sold to stone -dealers, chiefly
Cambay Musalmans of the Bohora sect.^

Crreat part of the Eewa Kantha is forest land. The chief trees
are the mahuda, Bassia latifolia, found in the greatest plenty in the
districts of Chhota TJdepur and Bariya. The timber is much used
in house building ; the flowers are a chief article of food and drink
for the poorer Bariya and TJdepur tribes, and from the seeds or berries
called doli, the doliu oil is extracted. Teak, sdgvdn or sag, Tectona
grandis, is abundant, but except in malvans or sacred village groves
is stunted. The timber is used for house building, the seeds and
flowers are given in cases of colic, and the leaves are made into
thatch. Blackwood, sisam or sisu, Dalbergia sissoo, is not found
in any large quantity. Tamarind, dmli, Tamarindus indioa, is
plentiful, the timber used for house building, and the fruit for
pickling. The Mango, amha, Mangifera indica, is chiefly valued as
a fruit tree. Of the Bamboo, vans, the poles are^sed for roofing,
the young shoots are pickled, and the wheat-like seed is ground
into flour and made into bread. The Mayan, Mimusops indica, is
abundant and valuable. Its tough wood is used in making native
sugar mills and mortars, and in the hot season large numbers of the
poorer tribes feed on its fruit. Sddado, Terminalia arjuna, timber
is largely used in house building and for other purposes. Of the
Khakhar, Butea frondosa, the leaves are made into platters, the
flowers called kesuda are used as a dye, and the wood for fuel. Its
gum serves the place of Indian kino. It is given in cases of chronic
diarrhoea and is an external astringent application. Of Beheda,
Terminalia belerica, the fruit used as a dye is astringent and forms
an ingredient in the compound powder used by native doctors, and
called triphala. Of the Timharrun, Carissa, carandas, the fruit
commonly eaten is believed to lessen the effects of opium. Its wood is

» Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 3, 56, 219.

=" Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 110, and Mem. Geol. Sur. VI. 3, 219, 220. Fuller detaUs
are given in the Statistical Account of Cambay. The position of the agate hills in
Ptolemy's map, and the Periplus (247 a.d.) details of the Broach agate trade, seem
to fix the chief carnelian mines in some Central Province range rather than in the
ft^jpipla hills.

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

hard and is the abnus or ebony employed in making boxes and other
articles of household furniture. Bill, -^gle marmeloSj is sacred
to Shiv, over whose image its leaves are strewn. Its fruit when
dry is made into snuff boxes. The pulp of the unripe fruit is useful
in cases of dysentery and chronic diarrhoea. Chdroli, Buchanania
latifolia, seeds are a favourite native spice. Dhdvdo, Anogeissus
latifolia, wood is used for fuel and the gum is mixed with some
medicinal drugs and eaten as a cold weather tonic. Gugali, Boswellia
serrata, a sweet-scented gum, is burnt in religious ceremonieSj and
sometimes used to strengthen lime. Alardi, Morinda exserta, wood
is used for fuel, and the leaves are given to cattle when grass and
forage are scarce. Kher, Acacia catechu, timber is valuable not
sufferiug from water, useful as fuel, and yielding the astringent
substance called kdih, Terra japonica. In Bariya, during February
and the three following months, hath making gives employment
to a large number of Kolis and Naikdas. Branches stripped of
their bark are cut into small three or four inch pieces and
boiled in earthen pots tUl only a thick sticky decoction remains.
A narrow pit five or six feet deep is dug and a basketful of the
extract placed over the pit's mouth, the water soaks into the earth
and the refuse remains in the basket, leaving the hath in the pit.
The extract is then taken out of the pit and dried on leaves in the
sun.' The hher also yields a white powder called khersdl given to
cure coughs. The soft wood of the haledi tree is made into wooden
plates and used for fuel. Kalam or Jcadam, Stephegyne parvifolia,
sacred to Krishna, is used for house building. Haldharvo, Adina
cordifolia, soft and yellowish is also a useful timber. The Nim,
■ limhdo, Melia azadirachta, is sawn into planks and used for house
building. Its bark serves for cinchona and the leaves are used in
fomenting swollen glands, bruises, and sprains. The expressed oil
of its seeds is used in cases of leprosy. Piplo, Fious religiosa,
and Vad or Banyan tree, Ficus indica, are common. Of the Wood
Apple tree, hothi, Feronia elephantum, the fruit is eaten ripe or
pickled, and the astringent pulp is given in cases of diarrhcea and
dysentery. Moheno wood is used for fuel. Tanach, Dalbergia
oojeinensiSj wood is tough and used in cart building. Bdval, Acacia
arabica, wood is used for fuel and in making cart wheels. Its gum
is valuable and its astringent bark is used in tanning. Of the
Palmyra, tad, Borassus flabelliformis, the juice yields toddy and the
leaves serve for thatching. The juice of the Wild Date, khajuri,
Phoenix sylvestris, yields toddy, and its fruit is eaten by the lower
clases. Blunt-leaved Zizyphus, bordi, Zizyphus jujuba, fruit
is eaten, and is a favourite food with bears. Samdi, Prosopis
spicigera, is worshipped on the Dasera festival (September-October).
Its pods called sdngri are used as vegetables. Custard Apple,
sitdphal, Anona squamosa, is chiefly valued for its fruit. Kanji or
karanj, Pongamia glabra, yields an oil useful in cases of itch and
burning. Bohen, Soymida febrifuga, bark yields a dark red dye.

Chapter II.
Production.

Trees.

' Bom. Gov. Sel, XXIII. 154. In 1826, aa it still is, the price was about ten pounds,
sers, a rupee (R». 1-8 to Rs. 2-8 a man). The export was then estimated at 600-
700 mans ; corresponding returns are not now available.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter II.
Production.

Trees.

Plants.

It tastes bitter and may be used like Peruvian bark. A good tonic
in intermittent fever, it causes dizziness if too much is taken.
Kado, Wrightia tinctoriaj flowers are mixed with curry and taken
as a vegetable. The seeds called indrajav are useful in dysentery.
The barkj formerly exported to Europe under the name of Concan
or Tellicherry bark, is astringent and bitter and is employed in
fever and dysentery with much success. Sevan, Gmelina arborea, a
light wood, is used in making carts and some articles of furniture.
Simla wood is soft and is hollowed into canoes or small boats. The
fine cotton-like wool that covers its seeds is used for stuffing pillows,
and its gum, called hamarkas, ground to powder is drunk in milk as
a tonic. Pilvu, Salvadora persica, berries are aromatic and pungent
to the taste. Roliedo, Csesalpinia sappan, is supposed to cure a
swelling in the belly, and the disease known among native doctors
as congealed blood. A tree of this kind is kept with great care by
the Raja of Rajpipla. Agathio, Sesbania grandiflora, flowers are used
for food and the bark as a tonic. The seeds of the Arithi, Sapindus
emarginatus, known as soapnuts, are used in cleaning the hair.

The following are some of the principal shrubs and medicinal
plants found in the Rewa Kantha forests. Achyranthes aspera,
the seeds are given in cases of hydrophobia and snake-bite, the
juice of its flowering spike for scorpion bites, and the ashes of the
burnt plant have been successfully used in dropsy. Gorakh dmli,
Adansonia digitata, the pulp is a good refrigerant in fever, and
the bark a useful substitute for quinine in low fever. Kariaturi,
Agathotes chiraita, an infusion of its leaves is used as a tonic and
febrifuge. Samudra sholc, Argyreia speciosa, the leaves are used
to foment boils and abscesses. Shatdrasi, Asparagus racemosus,
the root when fresh is a mild tonic. Golchru, Asteracantha longi-
folia, the root is a tonic and diuretic. Dholi sdtardi, Boerhaavia
diffusa, the root is said to be a strong emetic. JEranda hdhdi, Carioa
papaya, the milky juice is reckoned one of the best vermifuges.
Garmdla, Cathartocarpus fistula, the pod pulp acts as a strong
purgative. Indralc, CitruUus colocyntMs, the pulp of the fruit is
purgative. Dholo dJedo, Calotropis gigantea, the root -bark is
used as a diaphoretic, an emetic in large doses, and as an alterative
in leprosy. Musli, Curculigo orchioides, the root slightly bitter
and aromatic is used in gonorrhoea. Amarvel, Cuscuta reflexa,
the stem is used as an alterative, especially in bilious
disorders. Ndgar motah, Cyperus rotundus, the fresh tubers
are a stimulant and diaphoretic. Jangli suran, Dracontium
polyphyllum, the roots are used as an antispasmodic in asthma.
Kdlu ganthi, Eclipta prostrata, the root is a purgative and
emetic, used in cases of enlarged spleen, liver, and dropsy. Thor,
Euphorbia nereifolia, the milky juice is given as a purgative, and
is put in the ears to cure ear-ache. Pitpdpdo, Fumaria parviflora,
the whole plant is used with black pepper in common agues. It is
said to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and aperient. Sdgargota,
Guilandina bonduc, the kernels of the nut are very bitter and
powerfully tonic. They are given in the form of powder mixed
with spices in intermittent fever, Brahni, Hydrocotyle asiatica,

Qajarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

tte whole plant is considered diuretic. It is a good alterative
and has been used with, success in skin diseases. It is said to
cure brain disorders. Aduso, Ailanthus excelsa, the juice of the
leaves and flowersj expectorant and antispasmodic, is given in
chronic bronchitis and asthma. Bhui champo, Ksempferia rotunda,
the roots are stomachic and applied to swellings. Tumbdi, Leucas
linifolia, in snake-bites the leaves are bruised and a teaspoonful
of the juice given to be inhaled through the nostrils. Bhui amldi,
Phyllanthus nirurij the roots, fresh leaves, and young shoots are
used as diuretic, the roots and fresh leaves in jaundice or bilious
complaints, and the young shoots as an infusion in dysentery.
Isapgol, Plantago ispagula, the seeds mucilaginous and demulcent
may, mixed with sugarcandy, be given in the form of a cold infusion
thrice a day in cases of dysentery and gonorrhoea. Ldl chitrak,
Plumbago rosea, the fresh bark is made into a paste and applied
to indolent buboes and tumours. Bdvchi, Psoralia corylifolia, the
seeds aromatic and slightly bitter are said to be stomachic and
are used in cases of leprosy and other skin diseases. GajJcarni,
Rhinacanthus communis, the juice of the leaves and roots is applied
as a cure for ringworm. Mwndavli, Sphseranthus hirsutus, the seeds
considered to cure worms are prescribed in powders. The powdered
root is stomachic, and the bark powdered and mixed with whey is
a valuable remedy for piles. Gulvel, Tinospora cordifolia, the stem
is a good tonic and diuretic. A cold infusion has been found to be of
much benefit in chronic rheumatism and remittent fever. Kdlijiri,
Vemonia anthelmintica, the seeds are very bitter and powerfully
anthelmintic and diuretic. Reduced to powder and mixed with lime
juice they are used to destroy lice. Nagod, Yitex nigundo, the
roots are used as a decoction, as a vermifuge, and as a diaphoretic
in protracted fevers. Bhawdi, Grrislea tomentosa, the flowers are
powerfully astringent. A decoction is used in cases of diarrhoea.
Malkdnguni, Celastrus paniculata, the oil of the seeds is a diuretic
and has been used successfully in healing sinuses and fistulse.
Hansrdj, Adiantnm lunulatum, the leaf of this fern is used in
cases of fever and cough. Balbaja is used for ascites occurring in
children. Kolijan, Alpinia galanga, the root is used in cases of
cough and rheumatism. Gani, the seed is used in constipation.
Nilophal, Nymphcea lotus, also called poyana, is used generally in
the form of a syrup in cases of fever. Rdm tulsi, Melissa officinalis,
is used for headache, fever, pain of the intestines, and colds.
Nirgundi, Vitex bicolor, the fruit is used for gleet and debility.
Gherdn, considered a good tonic, is said to heal broken bones.
Among Rewa Kantha grasses the most important are viran or khas,
when wetted a well known screen for cooling hot winds, and elephant
grass, haru, whose stems are used for native pens, kalam.

The Rewa Kantha f drest reserves are of two kinds ; state reserves,
tracts in the large forests w'here the state only can cut, and sacred
village groves called mdlvan, where the finest timber of the district is
found. Except for the wants of the state, or when the villages are
forced to make good losses caused by some general fire or flood, the
fear of its guardian spirit keeps the people from cutting in their
village groves. Most villages have two kinds of mdhians, one never

Chapter II.

Production.

Plants.

Forests.

[Bonrbay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.

Animals.

cut except on emergencies, tie other less sacred and generally felled
at intervals of thirty years.i The Bariya forests were once famous
for their large stores of high class timber. But of late years from
the growing demand and the stricter conservancy in the neighbouring
Panch Mahals, they have been greatly cut down, and except in the
sacred village groves few large trees are left. Except in the eastern
Sagbara range, the timber of the Rajpipla hills, teak, hher, blackwood,
lancewood, sddar, mahuda, and bamboo, is not of good quality. The
trees are stunted and damaged by fire. The timber is sent down the
Narbada and the Tapti, and by land to Anklesvar, Mandvi, and
other British towns. In Bariya the former custom was to farm
every year the customs duties on timber exported from the state
inclusive of the monopoly of the right of purchase and of the sale of
the supplies for export. The contractors could not fell wood, but
only buy it from the villagers. The people of the state could buy
for home consumption, not for export. After November (2nd Kartik
sud) the villagers could export on their own account. Those who
bought from the contractors had to pay timber fees.^ Villagers
brought the timber they cut to the Simalia market. At the close of
the contract, contractors might carry away free of duty any supplies
of timber they had bought. This practice, when the demand
increased, led to a very rapid felling of trees. The restriction, that
the contractor could only buy and not himself cut, was of little use
as he could easily arrange with the villagers to have such trees
as he wished cut down. The result was that all good-sized trees
disappeared. The villagers suffered as they were seldom able to
export on their own account and generally sold very cheaply to the
contractors. This contract system has now been discontinued and
the people are allowed on payment of a fee^ on each cartload to fell
timber from places not reserved, and export it for sale. People
from other districts have to pay an additional fee called van katdi.

The domestic animals of the district are buffaloes, cows, horses,
camels, asses, sheep, goats, cats and dogs. The cultivating classes
keep cows and buffaloes. Brahmans and other townspeople prefer
cows to buffaloes as less costly. Bullocks are chiefly kept by
the cultivators as the country is too rough for bullock carriages.
Vanias and others, who have to go into the rural parts of the district
instead of driving, ride ponies. Some Musalmans keep camels and
let them out for carrying goods. Besides by potters and rice-beaters,
asses are much used as beasts of burden. Every year after October,
divcbli, camel-men called Eaykas or Rabaris bring camels from
Meywar and Malwa to graze in Lunavada, Sunth and Bariya, paying
a fee of two young camels the herd, and return a little before the
rains. So too Oharans from Kathiawar bring buffaloes and settle in
good grazing villages. Bharvads and Rabaris keep goats and sheep.

1 CoL Anderson, Bdriya Administration Report, 1865-66.

2 On a cartload of teak Rs. 3-4 ; of bamboos Rs. 1-8 ; of sddar wood Rs. 1-8 ; of
other wood Rs. 1-4. On a cartload of timber bought by people of other districts from
the contractors at the Simalia wood station, Rs. 1-6. On a cartload of rafters Rs. 1-2.

3 On a cartload of teak Rs. 3, and less for other timber.

6ujard.t.]

RBWA KANTHA. 17

Except among Bhils, who look on them as witches, cats are found Chapter II.
in every house. Some of the Bhils have dogs of a better breed Production,
than the common village pariah.

Animals.

Though all traces of them have long disappeared, wild elephants
were as late as the seventeenth century found in the Rajpipla and
Chhota Udepur forests.^ Tigers and hill panthers, though yearly
becoming fewer, are still found in considerable numbers. A common
way of killing tigers is to stuff the carcase of an animal he has
killed with minia kodra, Paspalum scrobiculatum. Eating this the
tiger becomes giddy and is either beaten to death with clubs or shot
by arrows. Another plan is, near where tigers come to drink, to
build a small hollow brick and cement pillar furnished with loop-
holes. In this, large enough for a man but too small for a tiger,
the hunter hides, and through the loop-hole shoots the tiger when
he comes to di-ink. Bears and wild hog are common in the forests.
Of deer, sdmbar, Rusa aristotelis; spotted deer, chital. Axis
maculatus ; blue bull, nilgai, Portax pictus ; and chinkd/ra, Grazella
benettii, are found over great part of the district ; and bison, hama
hhensa. Bos gavcBus, in the Sagbara forests in the extreme south-east.

The cock and hen, reared by Kolis and Bhils, are the only
domestic fowls found in the Rewa Kantha.

Of game birds the Painted Sand Grouse, Pterocles f asciatus, though Birds,

properly belonging to open country, are often found in the forest.
Common Sand Grouse, Pterocles exustus, are found in great numbers
in barren, sandy, or rocky tracts. The Red Spur Fowl, jalkukdi,
Galloperdix spadiceus, are found in thick forests. The Painted
Partridge, Idl titar, Francolinus pictus, and the Grey Partridge,
titar, Ortygomis ponticerianus, are common everywhere. Of quail
the common Bush Quail, Imri, Perdicula asiatica, the large Grey
Quail, Coturnix communis, the Black Breasted or Rain Quail,
Coturnix coromandelica, and the Bustard Quail, Turnix taigoor, are
common every where. Of snipe the Common, Gallinago scolopacina,
the Jack, Gallinago gallinula, and the Painted, Rhynchaea
bengalensis, are found. Of geese there are the Black Goose, nuktah,
Sarcidiornis melanonotus, and a smaller sort, name unknown. Of teal
the Cotton, Nettopus coromandelianus, the Whistling, Dendrocygna
javanica, the Common, Querquedula crecca, and the Blue-winged or
Garganey, Querquedula circia, are common. The Ruddy Shieldrake
or Brahminy duck, Casarca rutila, is found on large rivers. , The
Shoveller, Spatula clypeata, the Grey Duck, Anas paecilorhyncha,
the Widgeon, Mareca penelope, and the Pochard are well known.
Plorican, karmar, Sypheotides auritus, are found in the west of
Rajpipla, and Pea-fowl in all the forests.^

Of the Mahi and Narbada fish, some details are given in the

1 Large elephants were formerly hunted in the territories of Rajpipla. But the
passage in the mountains being now (1750) closed, they are no longer found. Bird.
Mir^t-i-Ahmadi, 104.

2 From a list of game birds furnished by Mr. Dunbar, Forest Officer, Panch
Mahals.

B 561—3

Fish.

[BomTjay Gazetteer,
18 STATES.

Chapter II. Broacli and Kaira statistical accounts. Those of chief importance
Production ^^® *^® mdhsir, mareJ, pdlva, boi, dangri, roi, surmai, and zinga.

Tlie alligator, magar, abounds in tlie large rirers, and from liis
boldness and greed is often tlie terror of a wbole neiglibourliood.
Collecting where bodies are burned in the hope of having part of a
half -burned body thrown into the river, they press to the shore so
boldly that according to native belief they sometimes dash water on
the pyre and carry away the unconsumed corpse. They also seize
cattle and sometimes children, or even grown men and women.

The stores of fish in the large rivers are made little use of. So
great is the influence of the higher class of Hindus that professional
fishermen, Machhis, can practise their calling only by stealth. There
is no trade in fish, and the Machhis earn a living either as ferrymen
or peasants. Besides Machhis and Bhois fishermen by caste, Kolis,
Bluls and other of the lower fish-eating tribes net fish, especially
when a pond overflows, or when a small water-course is flooded
with rain water. The nets and the way of catching fish do not
differ from those used in Broach and Kaira.

CHAPTER III.

POPULATION.

Until 1872, the Eewa Kantha people were never numbered. The
1872 census showed a total population of 605,732 souls or 105 to
the square mile.^ Of the whole number 485,423 or 95-98 per cent
were Hindus ; 20,104 or 3-98 per cent Musalmans ; 198 Parsis ;
5 Christians ; and two were brought under the head ' Others.'

The following tabular statement gives for the year 1872 details
of the population of each state under the Agency, according to
religion, age, and sex : —

Rewa Kdntha

Populatim, ISIZ.

HINDUS.

Statb.

Not more than

12 years.

Above 12 and

not more than

80 years.

Above 30 years.

Total.

Grand
Total.

Males.

Females

Males.

Females

Males.

Females

Males.

Females

Persons.

Kaddna

2629

1944

2570

2106

1687

1445

6386

6495

12,381

Sunth

9309

8541

9902

8322

6691

5972

■ 25,802

22,835

48,637

Lunivida

15,131

12,6S3

14,183

11,117

9466

920-5

38,770

32,955

71,725

Sanjeli

436

367

618

442

394

328

1347

1137

2484

Bal^sinor

81-30

6,709

7442

5659

6237

4950

20,611

17.218

37,829

Bdriya

8896

8290

9411

8979

8647

7086

26,964

24,356

51,309

PAndu Mehvds

8^13

6496

7897

6542

6693

6234

21,803

18,292

40,095

Chhota Udepur

10,907

9242

12,071

10,918

9918

8325

32,896

28,485

61,381

Sankheda MehvSs ...

9214

8016

8388

76-30

6240

5397

23,840

21,043

44,883

BiJP'Pla

21,010

19,847

19,329

17,0lJ9

19,818

17,662

60,187

64,438

114,625

Political Agent's Camp.

Total ...

93,904

82,085

91,558

78,618

73,703

65,526

259,165

226,268

485,423

■" The pressure of population varies considerably in the different states. It is
greatest in Bdlisinor with 222 and least in Sanjeli with 77. The tract of country
running north from the Narbada through Chhota Udepur, BAriya and Sanjeli, is the
most thinly peopled, the inhabitants being almost exclusively Bhils, and the square
mile pressure varying from 77 in Sanjeli to 72 in Chhota Udepur. Next as regards
fewness of people comes Kadina with '97 inhabitants to the square mile. Although
for the greater part covered with hills and forests peopled entirely by Bhils with hardly
sixty iniabitants to the square mile E-ijpipla, having some five thickly populated
districts on the banks of the Narbada, has an average density of 79 souls to the square
mile. In the states bordering on the Mahi there is a marked increase in the population :
in the Pdndu Mehvis the pressure is 283 to the square mile ; in BAldsinor further north,
222 ; in the adjoining state of LunAvAda, through which the Mahi passes, 192; and
in Sunth further to the eastward, 126. The variation of population within a very
short distance is remarkable. Thus in the Borsad sub-division of the Kaira
district, which borders on the Pdndu Mehvds, the density is 749 to the square mile,
while in the latter it is only about 283, and in the, state of Biiriya, the shortest distance
between which and Borsad is not more than thirty miles, the population to the square
mile is under 65.

Chapter III
Population.

Distribution.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter III.
Population.

Distribution.

STATES.

Rewa Kdntha Population, 187B — corttinned.

MUBALMA'NS.

State.

Not more than
12 years.

Above 12 and

not more than

30 years.

Above 30 years.

Total.

Grand

Total.

Males.

Females

Males.

Females

Males.

Females.

Males.

Females

Persona

Kadina

169

189

308

Sunth

178

113

263

144

196

139

642

396

1038

Iiun&vikda

679

488

517

647

459

498

1555

1533

3088

Banjeli

Ealdsinor

716

688

668

665

676

742

2060

2095

4166

BAliya

177

128

264

152

249

125

690

406

1095

F&ndn Mehvis

288

226

326

221

256

207

869

654

1623

Chhota Udepur

2S0

204

318

281

247

215

816

700

1515

Sankheda Mehvis ...

360

323

382

389

328

284

1070

996

2066

RAjpipla

891

733

1041

786

946

860

2878

2379

5257

Political Agent's Camp.

Total ...

3508

2951

3866

3244

3423

3112

10,797

9307

20,104

PA'ESIS AND CHBISTIANS.

KadSna

Bnnth

...

LiinAvSda

Sanjeli

BSlasinor

Biriya

■" 3

'" 2

■" 3

■■■ 3

■■■ 2

' 4

■■■ 8

" 9

"l7

P4ndu Mehv4a

Chhota TJdepnr

■■■ 3

■" 3

"■ 2

'" 3

■" 6

■■■ 6

"ll

"'l7

Bankheda Mehvds ...

■■ 3

Rijpipla

100

154

Political Agent's Camp.

Total ...

127

205

TOTAL.

EadSna

2694

1991

2629

2162

1732

1481

7055

5634

12,689

Sunth

9487

8664

10,170

8466

8787

61U

26,444

23,231

49,675

Lunavada 1

15,710

13,121

14,700

11,664

9915

9703

40,325

34.488

74,813

Banjeli

439

368

635

445

412

333

1386

1146

2532

B^ldsinor

8846

7897

7912

6224

5913

6692

22,671

19,313

41,984

Bariya

9076

8420

9678

9134

8898

7216

27,662

24,769

62,421

Pandu MehTds

8601

6722

8222

6763

6949

5461

22,672

18,946

41,618

Cbbota Udepur
Sankheda Mehvis

11,157

9449

12,392

11,201

10,168

8646

33,717

29,196

62,913

9577

8341

8774

8020

6572

6682

24,923

22,043

46,966

KSjpipla

21,957

20,598

20,404

17,828

20,804

18.445

63,166

66,871

120,036

Political Agent's Camp

Total ...

97,444

85,061

96,470

81,911

77,175

68,671

270,089

235,643

605,732

Prom the above statement it appears that the percentage
of males on the total population was 63'41 and of females 46'69.
Hindu males numbered 259,165 or 53"38 per centj and Hindu
females numbered 226,258 or 46*62 of the total Hindu population j
Musalman males numbered 10,797 or 53'71 per cent, and Musalman
females 9307 or 46-29 per cent of the total Musalman population ;
Parsi males numbered 120 or 60*60 per, cent, and Parsi females
78 or 39 '40 per cent of the total Parsi population ; all the five
Christians were males.

Gujarat.

EEWA KANTHA.

The total number of infirm persons was returned at 2081 (males
2119, females 862), or forty-two per ten thousand, of the total
population. Of these 48 (males 29, females 19), or one per ten
thousand, were insanes ; 296 (males 184, females 112), or six per ten
thousand, idiots; 432 (males 296, females 136), or nine per ten
thousand, deaf and dumb ; 101 1 (males 481, females 530), or twenty
per ten thousand, blind, and 294 (males 229, females 65), or six per
ten thousand, lepers.

The following tabular statement gives the number of the members
of each religious class of the inhabitants according to sex at
different ages, with, at each stage, the percentage on the total
population of the same sex and religion. The columns referring to
the total population give up the distinction of religion, but keep
the difference of sex : —

Mewa Kdniha Population by Age, 187S.

Hindus.

MUSALMA'NS.

Age.

Males.

Per

cent.

Females

Per
cent.

Males.

Per
cent.

Females

Per
cent.

Pptolyear

Between 1 and 6
6 „ 12
„ 12 „ 20
„ 20 „ 30
„ 30 „ 40
II 40 „ 60
., 50 „ 60

Above 60

7406
42,702
43,796
42,583
48,975
88,139
20,909
10,243

4407

2-86
16-47
16-90
16-43
18-90
14-71
8-06
3-95
1-70

7673
41,794
3i,618
32,124
46,524
32,651
17,968
10,600

4606

3-39
,18-47
14-41
14-20
20-66
14-38
7-94
4-64
1-99

375
1505
1628
1703
2163
1717
1034
474
198

3-47
13-94
16-08
15-77
20-03
16-90
9-58
4-39
1-83

342
1856
1253
1334
1910
1455
880
538
239

3-67
14-57
13-46
14-33
20-62
15-63
9-46
5-78
2-67

Total ...

259,165

226,258

10,797

9307

PA'esis AND Christians. | Total.

Age.

Males.

Per
cent

Females

Per
tent

Males

Per
cent.

Females

Per
cent.

•Up to 1 year

Between 1 and 6
II 6 11 12
II 32 1, 20
II 20 „ 30
II 30 „ 40
„ 40 „ 50
1. 60 „ 60

Above 60

17
14
21
25
22
22
4
1

0-82
13'93
11-48
1 6 -53
19-68
17-38
17-32
3-28
0-32

5-13
1T96

8-97
10-26
14-10
24-36
11-54

6-41

1-28

0782
44,2i4
45,438
44,307
51,164
39,878
21,965
13,7i6

4606

2-88
16-37
16-82
16-40
18-94
14-76
8-13
3'97
1-71

8019
48,194
33,87«
38,466
28,445
34,025
18,8S7
11,043

4746

3-40

18-32

14-38

20-56

14-44

8-10

4-69

2-01

ofal ...

127

270,089

235,643

The Hindu population of the district belongs, according to the
1872 census, to the following sects : —

Rewa Kdntha Hindu Sects, 1872.

Vaishnavs.

Shaivs.

Ascetics

AND RELI-

Gions

MENDI-
CANTS.

Unsecta-

HIAN

Hindus.

Shra'vakb

Bima-
nuj.

Valla-
bhS-
ch4rl.

Kabir-
panthi.

MMh-
vich^ri.

Svdmi-
ndriyan.

TotAi,.

33,068

7742

4671

8469

2270

27,744

767

399,187

1515

485,423

Chapter III-
Population-
Health.

Age.

Religion,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III.
Population.

Musalmdns.

Occupation.

Hindus.
Priests.

From this statement it would seem that of the total Hindu
population, the Vaishnavs numbered 56,210 or 11'58 per cent; the
Shaivs 27,744, or 5"72 per cent ; the Shravaks 1515, or 0"31 per cent ;
and the Unsectarian Classes 399,954, or 82-39.

The Musalman population belonged to two sects, Sunni and Shia ;
the Sunnis numbered 17,818 souls, or 88'63 per cent of the whole,
and the Shias 2286, or 11-37 per cent. Of the Parsis 132, or 66-67
per cent of the total Parsi population, were Shahanshais and 66 or
33-33 per cent Kadmis. The five Christians were all Eoman
Catholics.

According to occupation the census returns for 1872 divide the
whole population into seven classes —

I. — Employed under Government, or Municipal, or other local authorities,

numbering in all 5437 or 1 '7 per cent of the entire population.
II.— Professional persons 3288 or 0-65 per cent.
III. — In service or performing personal offices 4672 or 0'92 per cent.
IV. — Engaged in agriculture and with animals 125,931 or 249 per cent.
V. — Engaged in commerce and trade 4365 or 0'86 per cent.
VI. — Employed in mechanical arts, manufactures, and engineering operations, and
engaged in the sale of articles manufactured or otherwise prepared for
consumption 40,705 or 8 per cent.
VII. — Miscellaneous persons not classed otherwise (as) 133,878, and children
182,505, in all 316,383 or 6256 per cent, and (6) miscellaneous persons
4951 or 0-98 per cent ; total 321,334 or 63-54 per cent.

The following gives some details of the different castes and races.

Under Brahmans came twenty divisions : Nagar, with four sub-
divisions, Vadnagara, Visnagara, Sathodra, and, Chitroda ; Audich,
with two sub-divisions, Sahasra and Tolakia ; Mevada, with two sub-
divisions, Bhat and Trivedi; Modh ; Shrigaud; Khedaval; Khadayata ;
Udambar ; Eodhval ; Shrimali ; Gomtiv^l ; Bhathela or Anavla ;
Nandoda; ChovisajMotala; Eayathala; Rayakval; Maratha Brahmans,
with three sub -divisions, . Deshasth, Konkanasth, and Karhada ;
Kayatia; and Tapodhans. In proportion to its size, Lunavada
contains more Brahmans than any other state under the Agency,
having 7976 Brahmans and an area of 388 square miles. Bariya
with 813 square miles had only 431. Rajpipla, with 1514 square
miles had only 4360, Sunth, nearly the same in area as Lunavada,
had but 700, and Chhota Udepur with 873 square miles
only 276. Most Lunavada Brahmans follow secular pursuits.
Those at Rajpipla and the Sankheda Mehvas are ■ principally
attached to the various shrines and temples on the banks of the
Narbada. The Vadnagara Nagars came into the Eewa Kantha
for Government service. They are very few in number, and are
generally well off. The Visnagara Kagars, almost entirely
confined to the town of Lunavada, are divided into two parts, local,
Talahda, and settlers from Idar, Idariya. These eat together, but
do not intermarry. During the rainy, and a part of the cold
season, many of them go to the petty states of Malwa and Central
India, and recite Veds and Purans. Lunavada is the only place in
Gujarat, where a large number of Atharvan Vedic Brahmans of this
class are found. Some of these act as bankers and traders, and
are tolerably well-to-do. The Sathodra Nagars are only found in

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

tlie town of CMnod on the Narbada, and are poor, living mostly on
alms. The Chitroda Nagars probably came into the Rewa Kantha
on Government service. The Audich Sahasras are very numerous
in Lunavada, Nandod, and the Sankheda Mehvas, and are tolerably
■well off. The Audich Tolakias, mostly found in Bariya, are seceders
from the Audich Sahasras and seem to have come from the Kaira
district. The Trivedi Mevadas, chiefly found in Lundvada, are
mostly peasants. As a class they are poor, many of them going
every year to Baroda, where they earn their living as water-
carriers. They spend large sums in caste feasts, meidvds,
considering it a great honour to offer their guests clarified butter.
This honour is so much coveted that people frequently ruin themselves
in their efforts to be enrolled among the upper 27^, sddi sattdvis, who
have the privilege of giving their guests butter. The Bhat Mevadas,
much fewer in number than the Trivedis, are also poor. The Modhs,
regarded as experts in the art of begging, are mostly found in the
town of Balasinor. They travel over the whole of Gujarat, and
even as far as Bombay, and obtain alms by many tricks. A few
of them are now in Government service, especially in the education
department. The Shrigaud Brahmans; divided into two sects new,
nava, and old, juna, are famous for their power of drinking
melted clarified butter, ghi. This power they attribute to the favour
of their goddess, a lamp decked with flowers and ornaments, and
set in the midst of the butter drinkers. At their marriage feasts,
these Brahmans for fun make some of the bridegroom's party wear
beards and mustachios, fasten wheat and pease-meal cakes, vadds,
with holes in the centre to their ears, put conical hats of kJidlchra,
Butea fronddsa, leaves on their heads, and on the hat a lighted
lamp, and break wafer biscuits, pdpad, over their heads. The
Khedaval Brahmans have lately settled in the district for service or
trade; they are well-to-do. The Khadayata Brahmans act as priests,
gors, to Vanid,s of the same name. The Udambars, priests, gors,
of the Nima Vanias are few in number, and are said to have come
from Samlaji in the Mahi Kantha state of Idar. Of the Rodhval
Brahmans very little is known. The Shrimalis act as priests to
the Shrimali Vanias, and are in middling circumstances. The
Gomtivals, chiefly cultivators, are found mostly in the town of
Rampur in Sunth. The Bhathelas, or Anavlas, are settlers from the
Surat district. The Nandoda Brahmans, named after the town of
Nandod, are found in Rajpipla and the Sankheda Mehvas, and are
mostly poor. Not much is known of the two classes, Mota and Nana,
into which the Chovisas are divided. The Motalas are also settlers
from, the Surat district. The Rayathalas, originally settlers from
Bikanir or Thali in Marwar, are mostly found in the town of
Lunavada. They are disliked and the sight of them thought
ill-omened. The Rayakvals are beggars from the neighbouring
districts. The Maratha Brahmans have come into the Rewa Kantha
on service and are well-to-do. The Kayatias are regarded as low
class Brahmans, and perform funeral rites for Shudras. The
Tapodhans, worshippers of Shiv, if Brahmans at all, are Brahmans
of the lowest class. In Lunavada, where they are found in
considerable numbers, most are peasants.

Chapter III.
Population.

Hindus.
Priests.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III.
Population,

Rajputs.

Traders.

Husbandmen,

Craftsmen.

The Rajputs of the district are, according to their class and the
places they come from, divided into the following thirty-seven
sub-divisions : Virpura or Solanki ; Parmd,r ; Rathod ; Chohan
Dabhi; Puravia; Vaghela; Grohil; Dia; Kachhotia; Tank
Chudavatj EUiar; Sisodia; Makv^a; Gujar; Dodia; Grhelot
Raval; Yedia; Padiar; Jodha; Khuntar; Ohamarpa; Mohal
Padhar ; Bhati ; Khavas ; Hada ; Jadia ; Barad ; Bihola ; Rana
Sojantria; Karodia; Jalia; and Vadvasia. In proportion to its
size, Lunavada^ contains a larger number of Rajputs than any other
state under the Agency. Many of this class, chiefly relations of
the different chiefs, are large landholders ; the rest are peasants,
soldiers, and messengers.

Under Mercantile, Trading, and Shop-keeping classes came
the Vanias, belonging to fourteen divisions: Porvad; Nima;
Khadayata; Mevada; Shrimali; Nagar; Vayada; Umad; Osval;
Mam J Deshaval; Modh; Jharola; and Lad. Many of these
classes are divided into Dasa and Visa. The Porvads are mostly
found in Lunavada and Sunth. Some of them are Shravaks. The
Nimas are numerous in Bariya, Limavada, and Balasinor, and are
partly Shravaks' and partly Meshris. Among the Khadayatas
marriageable girls are scarce, and consequently large sums have to
be paid to the bride's father. Some of the Mevadas in the town of
Lunavada are goldsmiths by profession, and are known by the name
of their craft. The Shrimalis are partly -Shravaks and partly
Meshris. Some of these also follow the occupation of goldsmiths.
The Nagars are not numerous. Vayadas are tolerably well off.
The Umads are immigrants from Meywar. The Osvals are all
of them Shravaks. The Marus are said to have come into the
district from Marwar. The Deshavals are not found in large
numbers. The Modhs, found chiefly in Rajpipla and the Sankheda
Mehvas, are mostly oilmen by profession, and are' therefore called .
Ghanchis. The Jharolas and Lads are only met with in the*
southern parts of the Rewa Kantha.

Of Cultivators there were^ five classes : Kanbis, with four
sub-divisions. Leva, Kadva, Anjna, and Maratha; Kachhias, with
two sub-divisions, Padaria and Sagaria ; Malis ; Pateliyas ; and
Rajputs. The Kachhias and Malis cultivate gardens, growing
flowers and vegetables. The Pateliyas are said to have come from
Ghampaner, and are believed to be the descendants of Rajputs.
They are divided into four classes, Parmar, Solanki, Chohan and
Gohil. At marriages they have the peculiar custom that the bride's
mother touches the bridegroom's head with a yoke and some other
field tools, before he enters the house prepared for him by the
bride's father. They use animal food and worship Kali, the goddess
of the Pavagad hill.

Of Manufacturers there were two classes, Ghanchis, oil pressers
and Ohhipas, calenders.

1 LunivAda, 388 square miles, 2577 Rajputs; Rijpipla, 1514 square miles, 5893;
Bdriya, 813 square miles, 542 ; Chhota Udepur, 873 square miles, 2407 ; Sunth, 394
square miles, 626 ; and Sankheda MehvAs, 311 square miles, 4843.

Gujarat]

REWA KANTHA.

Of Artisans there were ten classes : Kumblidrs, potters, with two
sub-divisions, Deshi and Marvadi; Suthars, carpenters, with two
sub-divisions, MevMa and Vaishya; Bonis, goldsmiths; Darjis,
tailors; Luhars, blacksmiths j Kansaras, coppersmiths; SaMts,
masons ; Chunarfe or Kadiyas, bricklayers ; Kharddis or Saranias,
turners ; and Lakharas, makers of lac bangles.

Of Bards there were two classes, Bhats, bards, and Charans,
genealogists.

Of Personal Servants there were two classes ; Hajams, barbers,
belonging to four sub-divisions, Limbochia, Bhatia, Malvi, and
Hindustani ; and Dhobhis, washermen.

Of Herdsmen and Shepherds there were two classes, Bharvads,
keepers of goats and sheep ; and Rabaris, who rear camels and cattle.

Of Fishers and Sailors there were two classes, Machhis and Bhois.
Besides fishing, the Machhis till land, and act as ferrymen across the
Mahi m the rainy season. The Bhois also till land, grow sMngodds,
Trapa bispinosa, in the beds of ponds, carry palanquins, and by
means of large earthen pots, golds, ferry passengers across the
river Panam near the town of Lunavada.

Under Labourers and Miscellaneous Workers came fifteen classes ;
Kandois, sweetmeat sellers ; Bhadbhunjas, grain parchers ; Grolas,
rice pounders ; Pinjaras, cotton cleaners ; Ods, well-diggers ; Kalals,
liquor-sellers; Dalvadis, brickmakers; Thoris, makers of wooden
combs and plates and beggars; Vaghris, fowlers, hunters, and
beggars; Ravalias, cotton tapemakers and beggars; Bajanids,
acrobats ; Vanjaras, grain carriers ; Laban^s ; Naiks ; Bhartharis
and Hi] das, beggars. Besides their ordinary business, the Golas
sell rice and carry it on donkeys. The Vanjaras carry merchandise
on pack bullocks, and also trade in grain and salt. They and the
closely allied tribes of Labanas and Naiks have settled in some of
the Bariya villages, where they till land. The Bhartharis play on
a kind of rude violin, and sing songs, particularly in praise of
king Bhartrihari, from whom they are named. The Hijdas,
hermaphrodites and eunuchs, are singers.

Of Workers in - Leather, there were six classes : Mochis, shoe-
makers ; Dabgars, makers of leather jars ; Khalpas, Bhambhis, and
Chamadias, tanners ; and Tirgars, who make arrows and carry away
dead cattle.

Besides the three classes of tanners and the Tirgars, there were
four Depressed Castes : Dheds, weavers of coarse cloth ; Garudas,
Dhed priests ; Turis, Dhed minstrels ; and Bhangias, sweepers and
makers of bamboo baskets and mats.

There were Devotees and Religious Beggars of various names,
such as Sanyasis, Grosais, Khakhis and Sadhus. The Khakhis have
a monastery, math, called Ndth Bdvdno AMddo, at Lunavada, which
has acquired much local celebrity. It has an important branch at
Ahmedabad called Nilkcmthno Akhddo. Of Gosai monasteries,
maths, those at Sarsan in Sunth, and Chavadia in Lunavada, are
the best known.
B 561—4

Chapter III.
Population.

Bards.
Servants.

Shepherds
Fishers.

Miscellaneous.

Leather
Workers.

Depressed
Classes.

Beggars.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III.
Fopulatioii.

Unsettled Tribes.
Bhila.

Dreti.

Of Unsettled Tribes there were six classes with, in 1872, a total
strength of 307,199 souls. Of these 172,328 were Bhils, 94,157
Kolis, 30,780 Dhankas, 9660 Naikdas, 155 Valvis, and 119
Chodhras. '

The Bhils are found in large numbers, especially in the south-east
of the Rewa Kantha. The bulk of the population in Rajpipla,
Sankheda Mehvas and Chhota Udepur, they become gradually
fewer till, near the hills forming the watershed between the Narbada
and Mahi, they give place to the Kolis. The Rewa Kdntha Bhil is
generally of middle size, strong-limbed, muscular, and wonderfully
active and dirty. Bhil houses, built neither in groups nor rows, are
scattered some distance from each other, so that the village covers
an area of three or four square miles. For this there are three
chief reasons : the fear that their neighbour may be a witch and-
bring some calamity on them ; their grea,t dread of infection, which
they believe to be the work of evil spirits, so that the favourite cure
for a Bhil who has been long sick is to change his house ; and lastly .
there is the fear of fire, fires being kept burning in every hut both for
heat and light. The Bhil hut is built of two forked uprights of Icher
wood, Acacia catechu, with a beam of teak laid across, upon which are
fastened light teak rafters or bamboos. The rafters are fastened to
the ridge pole by boring holes through their upper ends, and passing
small male bamboos, generally through four rafters at a time, two
of them going on one side of the roof and two on the other. If
bamboo poles are used as rafters, they are chosen long enough to
form both sides of the roof. From the underside of the centre of
the bamboo a piece is cut, and this resting on the ridge-pole, the
two ends of the bamboo fall on either side, shoots of creepers and
strips of bark helped by the weight of the thatch keeping the rafters
in their place. On the rafters some layers of teak leaves are laid,
and over the teak leaves is a thatching of rough forest grass. The
walls of the hut are made either of brushwood or of opened bamboos,
plastered inside with mud and cowdung. To make these strips or
bands of opened bamboos, across each point of a hollow or female
bamboo pole, a number of up and down scars are cut. Then one
large slit is carried from end to end, and the bamboo opened, and
by the help of the joint cuts laid flat on the ground in one broad
band. These bands are then interwoven and plastered inside- with
mud and cowdung. The hut has usually one opening protected
by a wattled bamboo door. Outside the hut is generally a small
covered stage for water pots and grass, high enough to let cattle
stand below it. Of household goods, each hut has a short cot,^ a
few jars for grain and cooking, earthen drinking vessels, and field
tools, generally a wooden plough, a small pick, a hatchet, a bill-
hook, and a few baskets.

As regards dress, the Bhil and Kolis of the pal, are divided into
two classes; potadids or waistcloth wearers, and langotias or

' The Bhil is generally longer than his cot, according to his saying ' The cot should
not swallow the body, but the body the cot.'-

Onjar&t]

REWA KANTHA.

loincloth wearers. The former, besides a waistcloth, wear a short
coat, angarkha, and a turban, pdgdi, generally white but soinetimes
red. A few, instead of the waistcloth, wear short drawers reaching
to their knees. The latter have only a very narrow strip of cloth
generally plain, but sometimes among the Rathvas, Koli settlers
from the Malwa district of Rath and younger Bhils, with red
borders, passed between the legs and fastened at either end to
a string belt. A Bhil woman usually wears a coarse sddi, a
large petticoat, ghdgro, and a cheap bodice. On holidays she
puts on a silk sddi and a mashru petticoat, half silk and half
cotton. On holidays men wear red or white turbans with peacock
feathers in them, and round their shoulders pieces of white or red
cloth, or among their headmen a piece of scarlet broad cloth.
A Bhil's dress costs, as a rule, from 10s. to 12s. (Rs. 5-6)
a year; a Bhil woman's from 14s. to 16s. (Rs. 7-8)j and a
child's from 6s. to 8s. (Rs. 3-4). Both men and women wear
ornaments, chiefly of silver, brass, and glass. Men wear wristlets,
rings, armlets, and necklaces, mddalids, all of silver. Women
wear gold noserings, Jcdnto or vdli ; silver or brass earrings, dodis ;
necklaces, mddalids and hdnsdis of silver or brass and glass beads ;
armlets, chudds, of brass, lac, or cocoanut shell, worn in tiers from
the elbow to the wrist ; wristlets, gujri, finger rings, and tiers of
brass anklets, pinjdnids, from the ankle to the knee. A man's
ornaments are worth from 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10) and a woman's
from £2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25).

The ordinary food of a Bhil varies with the different seasons of
the year. In the cold months (November to March) it consists
of bread, rotla, made of the flour of Indian corn or other coarse
grains, such as hanti, Panicum spicatum, with occasionally split
pulse, adad, Phaseolus mungo. Sometimes they eat Ichichdi, a
mixture of coarse rice and boiled split pulse, adad, Phaseolus mungo,
or mag, Phaseolus radiatus. In the hot season (April to June),
when they are short of grain, they eat boiled mahuda berries, or
Tnahuda berries mixed with a little Indian corn flour, soured with
green or dry mangoes or dried jujube apples, and a buttermilk
and Indian com flour porridge. In the rainy season they live on
wild fruits and roots, eked out with sdmo, a wild self-sown grain
that comes up after the first few showers of rain. To' these are
added a few vegetables, chiefly onions and chillies, grown in plots
near their huts. The Bhils occasionally add to their scanty supply
of food by hunting and killing wild animals, and when these are
scarce, by stealing and killing cattle. On holidays and festivals
they are never without animal food. The Bhils are habitual topers
and much given to mahuda spirits. The yearly food charges of a
well-to-do Bhil family, a man, his wife, and two chUdren, may be
estimated to vary from £7 12s. to £8 16s. (Rs. 76 - 88) .^

Most of the Bhils are peasants, but their scanty crops do not last
them for more than three or four months. During the rest of the

Chapter III .
Population-

Bbila.
Drest.

Food.

Occupation.

' The details are : grain, Ks. 36 to 48 ; molasses, Es. 3 ; clarified butter, ghi, Ks. 6 ;
oil, Rs. 1-8 ; salt, Rs. 6 ; liquor, Rs. 12 ; opium and tobacco, Rs. 12 ; and condiments^
as. 4.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III-
Population-

BhJls.

Character.

Religion.

year they depend for support on the sale of forest produce^ timber,
viahuda, honey, wax, and lac.

A Bhil is truthful, thriftless, superstitious, and fond of drink.
His truthfulness is due rather to a want of readiness in telling lies
than to any inborn or acquired love of truth ; all are wanting in
forethought. A thrifty Bhil is almost unknown. As a rule, they
live from hand to mouth, deeply indebted to the village trader, and
seldom receiving the full value of their labour or produce. Such is
the Bhil's love of spirits that all their religious and social rites end
in a great debauch. A rude still is made on the spot, a quantity
of mahuda flowers is thrown in and the spirit drunk raw and fiery.
At such times, both men and women mad with excitement, often
commit serious crimes. Weapons are handy and a few taunting
words provoke a discharge of arrows or a fatal blow with an axe.
Afterwards they admit their fault, pleading drunkenness as an
excuse. The Malivad Bhils, in the north of Lunavada, were at one
time most lawless and unruly. They defied the authority of the
Rajas of Lunavada and openly and fearlessly made raids into the
neighbouring villages. Under British management they have been
brought to order, and their leaders caught and punished. A trace
of their former oppression remains in the bullock-driver's favourite
curse, ' May the Malivads catch you.' Mr, Hall, who surveyed the
district between 1867 and 1871, found the central or Bariya Bhils
orderly, honest, well-disposed, willing, and cheerful. Of the south
or Raipipla Bhils, Lieutenant PoUexfen, who surveyed the district
between 1853 and 1855, has left the following account.^ *The
Bhils are for the most part of middhng stature, clean limbed and
muscular, endowed with extraordiaary activity and remarkably
expert in the use of the axe on which their livelihood greatly
depends. Mild and inoffensive, they are highly susceptible of
kindness, and at the same time are wonderfully patient under
oppression. Not even the smallest article was ever taken from my
camp, though had they felt inclined, nothing could have been easier.
I never heard of a theft or a murder. Their one fault seems to be
drunkenness.'

A Bhil's religion consists largely of a belief in charms. They
worship female deities, known as mdtds, represented by symbols
rather than images, by wooden posts, earthen pots, toy horses,
wicker baskets, and winnowing fans. They believe in witches and
in the evil eye. They have their wise men called barvds, exorcists,
whose oflB.ce is hereditary, and who are in special request when an
epidemic breaks out. Then the heads of the different village
communities wait on the holy man with offerings, praying him to
point out the cause of the visitation. The wise man generally names
some old woman as the cause. Small mercy is shown her. She is
seized by a raging crowd, swung by the heels or otherwise ill-treated,
probably losing her life unless the police hear in time and put a stop
to the riot.

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 320.

Gnjar&t.]

EEWA KANTHA.

On their holidays and festivals, they dress in their gayest attire,
and spend a little money in buying sweetmeats and other cheap
luxuries. Their chief holidays are Holi, 15th Phdgan Sud (February-
March) ; Dasera, 10th A'so Sud (September - October) j and Grokal
Atham, 8th Shrdvan Vad (July- August). The Holi holidays last for
a week or more. During this time the Bhils do no work, drink liquor,
dance, and sing obscene songs, and large bodies of them, men and
women together, go round Vania and other high caste houses asking
for small money presents, goths. One favourite ceremony called
the hearth, chulo, is to dig a wide trench, and filling it with logs of
wood set it on fire. As it burns, the men get drunk, and run over
the fire without burning the soles of their feet. Another of their
frolics is to plant a small tree or branch firmly in the ground. Bound
this men and women gather, the women round the tree, the men
outside. One man rushing in tries to uproot the tree, when all the
women set on him and thrash him so soundly that he has to retire.
Another man steps in, and he too is belaboured, and makes his escape.
Thus the play goes on, till one man luckier or thicker skinned than
the rest, bears off the tree, but seldom without a load of blows that
cripples him for days. On Dasera day, 10th A'so Sud (September -
October) they gather in large numbers in towns where their chiefs
go in procession to worship the shami tree. On the Gokal Atham
or 8th of Shrdvan Vad, they attend fairs at the temples of some of
their mdtds or goddesses. Other yearly festivals are Naudarva,
held in Shravan (July- August), and JhampaheldinS'arfifc (October-
November). At the first animal sacrifices are offered to Naudarva,
apparently nava da/ro or new grass, and eaten by the villagers ; liquor
is drunk and the day spent as a holiday. The Jhampa, in October -
November, is the harvest day, a more important festival. In both
of these the whole village joins and each villager has to pay his
share of the general cost. Goats and fowls are sacrificed to the
god Bdbddev, offerings of liquor are poured out, the exorcist,
barva, performs some mummeries, and the day ends with feasting
and drinking. The village headmen, jpatds, take a leading part in
these entertainments, and where the appointment is disputed, fights
take place, sometimes ending in bloodshed.

The occasional festivals are the In and the Jdtra or Yatra. The
in is the result of a vow taken by some of the villagers. A branch of
the halam tree is set in a hole, and the hole filled with rice instead
of earth. The branch is then worshipped with animal sacrifices and
liquor, the offerings being eaten by the whole body of villagers.
The jdtra is also held on account of the fulfilment of a vow taken
by some one of the villagers. On this occasion the god is worshipped
with the usual accompaniments of animal sacrifices and liquor, and
the people who come from all parts of the neighbourhood eat, drink,
and make merry. No invitations are necessary to attend a jdtra.
Any one hearing the sound of the village drum may join the party,
sure of a welcome.

Of festivals held at longer intervals than a year, the chief is Bdha
dev, or the father god, held on the top of Devgad hill near the
town of Bariya. The story of the festival is that when Dungarji,

Chapter III.
Population.

Bhils.
Holidayi,

Occasional
Festivals.

STATES.

[Bombay Qazetteer.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bhils.
Occasional
Festivals.

the grandson of the Patai Raval, retired to Bariya after the
Musalman conquest of Champaner in 1484^ a Bhil was cutting
wood on the top of the hill which overlooks the present town of
Bariya. As he cut^ he struck his axe agaiast two small round stones
and blood gushed out. The axe was shivered to pieces. The Bhil
told the exiled prince, and he findiug the stones, had a shrine built,
and made the rule that once in twelve years the Bariya chief should
visit them with great pomp. The shriae is on the top of a high
hill called Devgad or the god's fort, approached by a very rough
and windiug path about a mile and a half long. The stones are
worshipped under the name of Devgad Bapji or the Devgad
Father. They are set on a small raised verandah covered by a flat
terrace and before them are numerous wood and clay horses,
cocoanuts, oU, and other offerings. Near the shrine is a sacred brick
and cement reservoir, kund, about twenty feet square and twenty-four
deep, whose water is believed to purify from sin. The chief's
twelfth yearly pilgrimage takes place in Ghaitra (March or April).
On the 2nd of this month, every twelfth year, a Bhil exorcist, barva,
goes to the shrine and there spends a month in devotion. During
this time the holy man and his companions are supported at the
Raja's expense, and are furnished with a guard. This office is
hereditary ia a particular Bhil family, who live in the village of Rai
Bara, about six miles from Bariya. On the appointed day, the 15th
of Ghaitra, the Raja and his retinue climb the hill on foot, and
remain there for thirty-six hours. On arriving at the shrine rich
ofEerings of animals, grain, and money are placed before the objects
of worship and afterwards given to the offi.ciating Bhils.^ When all
is ready, the officiating Bhil begins to tremble and to personate the
deity who is supposed to have become incarnate in him. Thus
inspired he is believed to possess the power of prophecy ; and not
only the followers of the Raja, but the Raja himself approach him
with deference and respect, and making known their wishes, humbly
pray that they may be granted. Through his assistants the Bhil
gives answers to the different applicants, generally laying down
certain conditions, one of which almost always is the payment of
a sum of money. Besides answering questions, the Bhil foretells
whether the coming year will be one of plenty or of want, and
whether the Raja's affairs will go well or ill. Lastly he blesses the
Raja, telling him that the deity is well disposed to him, and that
his country will flourish. Then the chief gives a parting present,
sarpdv,^ and the priest gives him and his followers, rice, flowers,
and leaves of the bili tree. Separate ceremonies, much the same in
detail, are performed in honour of the minor deity. The right to
officiate belongs to a Bhil family, who live at the village of Udhavla

1 The details are : 4# owts. (12 mans ] of Jehichdi ; 50 lbs (IJ mans) of suhMi,
or malido, bread made of flour, butter, sugar, and other ingredients. To these, _
according to some, are added 4f cwts. (12 mans) of boiled gram called bdkla and 4f
cwts (12 mans ) of adad, made up into cakes called vadds ; 12 male buffaloes j 12
coats • 12 fowls ; 12 vessels of spirits ; 12 vessels of oil ; 1 small figure of a house partly
of cold and partly of silver, the whole weighing 2^ tolas ; and IDs. (Es. 5) in cash.

'The details are : one turban worth 10s. (Rs. 5) ; one shoulder cloth, shela, worth
10» (Ks. 5) ; a waistcloth worth 2s. (Re. 1), and 10». (Rs. 6) in cash.

Gujar&t]

REWA KANTHA.

about two miles from Bariya. Similar but less valuable presents
are given. Before the ceremony is performed a raging tiger is
believed to destroy the Bariya herds, and if the Raja makes no
pilgrimage, some calamity will fall on his family or people. The
last pilgrimage year fell in 1873 when the state was under British
management. There was no tiger, no procession, and no
punishment.

These aboriginal tribes hold no festivals in honour of the birth of
a first child or of the first pregnancy of their wives ; the only family
events on which they spend money are marriages and funerals.
Before a marriage or a funeral feast, to every family that is to be
asked, a string is sent with a knot for each day till the feast. Each
day the guest unties one knot, and, when all are untied, he comes to
the entertainment.

The Bhils have some peculiar marriage customs. In some
instances the match is made, as is usual with other tribes, by the
parents of the bride and bridegroom. Sometimes the young couple
arrange matters unknown to their parents. They disappear and
after hiding for some days in the forest, come back and declare
themselves man and wife. The parents as a rule accept the
situation and after settliug the bride's dowry which is generally from
£6 to £8 (Rs. 60-80), the marriage is celebrated in the usual
form. If the matter is not quietly settled, a feud runs on between
the families until a bride is seized by force from the bridegroom's
family or his cattle are carried off. Sometimes a woman boldly walks
into the house of the man she wishes to marry, and declares that
he is her husband. Should he be willing he sends for her father, and
making him a present of from £6 to £8 (Rs. 60-80), the latter
consents to the match. If the man is unwilling he is no way forced
to make the woman his wife. Agaiu, if a Bhil wishes to marry and
is unable to pay his wedding expenses, he joins his future father-in-
law as a serf, and contracts to serve him for a certain number of
years, at the end of which he is entitled to the girl's hand and to
have all marriage expenses paid. During this period of probation
he and the girl live as man and wife. Polygamy is allowed among
the Bhils and it is not necessary that the bride should be younger
than the bridegroom : in some cases the wife is double and even
treble the age of the husband. A Bhil woman cannot marry a
second husband in the lifetime of the first, unless she obtains a divorce
with his consent. Divorce is as a rule very easily granted. Women
leave their husbands and take up with other men, and if the paramour
is willing to pay £6 to £8 (Rs. 60-80), to make up for the husband's
marriage expenses, nothing further is done. Aiter the marriage
ceremony is completed some women hide a ring and a few
grains of Indian corn in a dunghill near the house, and tell the
bride and the bridegroom to find them out. It is lucky for the
bridegroom to be the first to lay his hand on the ring. After this
the maternal uncle of the bride taking the married couple on his
shoulders, dances along with the guests assembled for the occasion,
singing songs to the accompaniment of a drum. The marriage

Chapter Ill-
Population.
Bhils.

Custonu.

Marriage,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bhils.

Death.

Oommututy.

Eolis.

feast is boiled Indian corn and granij some animal food and large
quantities of mahuda liquor. Each guest, if a friend or relation of
the host, brings with him a potful of liquor and a goat. The
guests sing and dance all night, many of them drinking till they
fall senseless.

The Bhils burn their dead. On their way to the burning ground,
they make several halts picking up stones at each and heaping
them in a pile near the burning ground. On the next day the stones
are thrown away. On the tenth day, the Eavalia, or Bhil priest, brings
a brazen horse or a cow to the house of the deceased and places it on
a piece of cloth. The people present sprinkle water on it and place
before it a pie or a handful of Indian corn. The Eavalia then sets
the image in a brass dish filled with water, and placing the dish on
his head dances and sings, the guests joining him. If the image in
the dish moves they think the horse is possessed by the spirit of the
dead and the people bow before it singing songs. Some rice and
clarified butter are then given to the crows and next day the guests
are feasted. As on marriage occasions, each of the host's friends
and relatives brings with him a goat and a potful of liquor.
After the feast is over they present turbans, pdgdis, to the eldest
man in the deceased's family, and sdd/is to the widow or other women
of the house.

Of the Bhils there are forty-two tribes or clans, gots, some of them
claiming a strain of Rajput blood and bearing such names as
Parmar, Vaghela and Rathod.^ Intermarrige is allowed between
the members of the different clans.

The head man of a Bhil village usually called jadvi possesses
considerable influence among the villagers. He either enjoys rent-
free land or is freed from the payment of other state dues. He also
receives a small fee on marriages and money presents on Das6ra.
He presides at the feasts and ceremonies held in honour of the
village gods, devs.

The Kolisaredividedinto twenty-one tribes,^ g'oifs, belonging to two
great sub-divisions, Talabda and Khant, which are so distinct that
between them marriage is forbidden. The Rathva Kolis, originally
settlers from Rath, a district in Ali R^jpur under the Bhopavar
Agency in Central India, are found chiefly in the states of Bariya
and Chhota Udepur. They live in the forests which they clear
so quickly and well, that their axes are believed to have the virtue
of never allowing a tree which they have once cut to grow again.
They do not settle long in one place, moving from one tract to
another, clearing them of wood and growing crops on them. In

1 The elans are : ParmAr ; Vighela ; Rathod ; Munia ; Bhdbhar ; KaUra ; TAdvi ;
Biriya ; Bimania ; Kinbia ; Pargi ; BilvAl ; Ninima; Bhuria; Makna; VAsania ; Ddmor ;
A'malifo ; KAtuja ; Dungi ; Kisori ; Charpota ; Kalara ; GanAva ; Didor ; Singhdda ;
Palis ; Mini ; Buka ; MaehhAr ; Hatila ; Ad ; TAbed ; Mohania ; Heval ; Bibaria ;
Kivat ; KAval ; MAlivAd ; GarvAl ; Makv^na ; and VAhiga.

" The tribes are : Pagi ; BAriya ; Dumor ; ChohSn ; Solanki ; RSja kiva ; Kutar ;
Ddman ; Katira ; Patel ; DAera ; Senvii ; GSmor ; Dh4kania; Budel ; Gadil ; BheUm ;
Biltnania ; Tiraas ; Dabhol ; and Uithva.

Qitjarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

their habits and way of living they are more like Bhils than Kolis.
They wear no dress except a loin-band^ langoti, and are very dirty.
The Kolis' food, dress, and houses are of the same description
as tbe Bhils', with only this difference, that the Talabda Kolis, who
thiak themselves superior to other Kolis, do not eat beef or the flesh
of any animals that have died a natural death. Most of the Kolis
are peasants, but idle and unskilled far below the Kanbis. Nearly
as thriftless as Bhils, they are deeply indebted to the village Vanias,
who, leaving them grain enough for food, seed, and rent, take the
rest. They are more cleanly in their habits, and are not such
simpletons as Bhils. Both classes are inveterate thieves; but the
Kolis lay their plans with much more method, boldness, and
canning than the Bhils. They have better organizing powers
and much more skill in concealing their actions. They lie in the
most unblushing manner, and, when found oat, they take their
punishment with the greatest coolness and good temper. The Kolis
are less superstitious and pay more respect to the Hindu religion
than the Bhils. They worship all the Hindu gods, but chiefly
Indra and Hatmal. They respect Brahmans and employ them to
conduct their religious ceremonies.

Polygamy is allowed among the Kolis, but it is not necessary
that the bride should be younger than the bridegroom. When a
Koli wishes to get his son married, he generally, although the
marriage may have been- arranged long before, goes through the
form of starting ofE to find a bride. On leaving his house, he must
see a small bird, called Devi, on his right hand. Till he sees a
Devi, he will not start, even though he is kept waiting for weeks
or even months. After he has chosen a bride and made all
the preliminary arrangements, he is asked to dine with her father.
During the dinner, the women of the bride's family strew grains of
corn on the threshold, and as the boy's father is leaving the house,
they rush at him as if to beat him, and he, making for the door,
slips on the grain and falls. This is all done intentionally that
the boy's father may fall on the threshold of the girl's house, an
omen so important that without it no marriage could prosper. When
the marriage contract is settled, the bride/s father sends half a pint
(^ set) of oil to the bridegroom, and keeps the same quantity at his
own house to be rubbed on the bodies of the couple, until the
marriage is over. The bridegroom generally goes to the bride'a
village. On his approach, the patel with a lamp in one hand and the
other on his mouth, comes out to receive the bridegroom and hia
.party. Among Kolis, when a man dies leaving a widow, it is usual
for his younger brother to marry her.. But if she wishes to marry
some one else, she can do so, if her future husband pays the younger
brother the deceased husband's marriage expenses^

The Kolis burn their dead. On the 11th day after the burning, all
the fellow-villagers of the deceased, together with his friends and
relations, meet at some river or pond and have their mustachioa
ehaved. They then take a stone, and pou,ring water on it believe
that the soul of the deceased has entered the stone.
b561— 5 +-

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

Kolia.

Cuitomt,

[Bombay (}aietieer,

STATES.

Chapter III.
population.

Dhivikia,

V^lviB.

Cbodbr^s.

MaBalmdns.

The Naikdas^ cling to the hills which separate BMya from
Chhota Udepar, and are tn be found almost exclusively in these
two states. They are considered lower than the Kolis and Bhjls.
Their touch like the touch of Dheds and Bhangias is thought to
defile. Of their origin two stories are told. One that their ancestors
were grooms in the service of the Musalman nobles in the prosperous
times of Chdmp&er, who took to a plundering life when the
city became deserted. The other account states that they are the
descendants of the Naeks, attendants sent by the Eaja of Eaglan
with his daughter on her marriage with one of the Bajas of
Champaner. They eat the flesh of all animals, except the crow and
the donkey. They show no respect to Brahmans. The common
belief is, that they consider the killing of a Brahman an act of
merit ; as their proverb says that, by the death of one Tilvan, or
man with a sect mark, tilu, a hundred are fed, referring to the
feasts on the 11th, 12th, and 13th days after a Brahman's death.
They worship Hanuman and female powers, mdtds. Formerly the
Naikdas were celebrated freebooters, and even now ' May the
Naikdas take you' is a common imprecation among bullock- drivers.
In 1838 their raids became so formidable that it was found
necessary to remove the superintendence of the Sagtdla district
in which they are chiefly settled, from the Eaja of Bariya and place
it under the direct orders of the Political Agent. Strong measures
were taken against them, and the disorders were suppressed. In
1868 they again gave some trouble, but the disturbance was soon
quelled. Since then they have given up their predatory habits and
begun to take to tillage. But they have still so bad a name that, on
the restoration of the management of the Bariya state to the present
Raja, the Naikda district was kept under the charge of the Political
Agent. The organization of the Naikdas is much better than that
of the Kolis and Bhils. Each Naikda community has a chief with
a minister, vajir. At the sound of their chief's drum the Naikdas
gather from all sides and without a murmur obey his orders.

The Dhankas, a sub-division of Bhils, are found only in the
Narbada basin. They and the Valvis and Chodhras have few.
points of difference from the other unsettled tribes.

Of the whole Musalman population of 20,104 souls, 4155 were
returned as settled in the state of Balasinor, 3088 in Lnnavfi,da,
808 in Kadana, 1038 in Sunth, 48 in Sanjeli, 1095 in Bariya,
15.15 in Chhota Udepur, 2066 in Sankheda Mehvds, 5257 in
|l4iJFpla, 1523 in Pandu Mehvas, and 11 in the Political Agent's
camp. In addition to the four main divisions, Syeds, Shaikhs,
liqghals, and Pathans, numbering altogether 6325, or 31'47' per
c^at, of the total Musalman population, there were 1228, or 6'1];
per cent of other Musalmans, not natives- of India, consisting of
47 Afghans, 482 Arabs, 131 Balachis, S44^akranis, and 24, Others.
'The remaining pprtion of the Musalman population, 12,551 soujs.

.. .>.Fn]l details oftheN^kd&s are given in the F»nch Mahils Statistical Account.
Bombay Gazetteer, III. 223,

Gujarat]

RBWA KANTHA.

were mostly descendants of converted Hindus, consisting of 1667
Bohoras, 21 Memans, 2 Khojas and 10,861 others. Most of the
Pathans, Arabs, Balucliis, Makranis and Moghals are in the service
of the different chiefs. The Arabs, besides fighting, guard their
chiefs' treasuries and palaces ; the others are employed only as
soldiers. The Syeds, as the descendants of Hasan and Husain, the
grandsons of Muhammad, hold the highest place among Musalmans.
The Maliks and Shaikhs are mostly employed as messengers. The
Grhanchis, generally called Bohora Grhanchis, are Sunnis by
religion, and probably descendants of Hindu oil-pressers.^ The
Pirzadas are the descendants of Dariyaishah, the celebrated saint,
pir, of Virpur in Balasinor. Besides the above, there are Hajams,
barbers ; Kalals, liquor-sellers ; Bhistis, water-carriers ; Bhathiaras,
professional cooks ; Tais, weavers ; Khatkis, tanners ; Ohitaras,
painters ; Dhuldhoyas, gold-dust washers ; Attars, perfume sellers;
Madaris, strolling players ; Fakirs, mendicants j Mirs, songsters ;
and Kasbans, prostitutes and dancing-girls.

Of the total Parsi population of 198 souls, 147 were settled in
the Eajpipla state, 17 in Bariya, 17 in Chhota Udepur, and 17 in
Sankheda Mehvas. They are chiefly engaged in liquor-selling and
other trades.

The five Christians were all native converts.

According to the 1872 census returns, there was in the Rewa
Kantha one town or village to about every three square miles of
land, each village containing an average of 145 inhabitants and
about thirty-two houses. With the exception of the people of three
towns, numbering 28,266 souls (Nandod with 9768 inhabitants,
Lunavada with 9662, and Balasinor with 8836) or 5*59 per cent of
the entire inhabitants, the population of the Rewa Kantha lived
in 3481 villages, with an average of 137 souls to each vUlage. Of
the whole number of villages 2862 had less than 200 inhabitants j
477 had from 200 to 600; ninety-nine had from 500 to 1000;
thirty-four from 1000 to 2000 ; eight from 2000 to 3000 ; and one
from 3000 to 5000,

As regards the number of houses there was in 1872 a total of
113,210 or on an average 26"65 houses to the square mile. Of the
total number 18,014 houses lodging 75,930 persons or 15'02 per
cent of the entire population, at the rate of 4-22 souls to each
house, were buildings Avith walls of fire-baked bricks and roofs of
tile. The remaining 95^196 houses accommodating 429,717 persons
or 84"98 per cent with an average house population of 4'51 souls,
included all buildings covered with thatch or leaves or whose outer
walls were of mud or sun-di'ied brick.

Rewa Kantha villages may be divided into two classes ; the better
villages with houses close to one another, and the hamlets of
the aboriginal tribes whose huts are scattered over a large extent

Chapter III.
Population.

Musalmdns,

Firsis,

Christians.
Villages.

Dwellings.

Communities.

' The word Bohora is here, as it pretty often is, used to mean Hindu converts from
the Bon-armbearing classes.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter III.
Population.

Movements of
the people.

of ground. In Bliil and Koli villages there is no stafE except the
patel or tadvi who is both the revenue and police head of the I
village. Either the whole or part of his land is rent-free. In the
better class of villages, besides the headman, there are watchmen, |
rakhds or pagis, chiefly Kolis or Bhils whose duty it is to guard the
villages. They are sometimes paid in grain by the villagers and i
sometimes enjoy rent-free lands. In a few villages are havdlddrs,
who look after the fields, see that no cattle trespass on them, and
help the commandant, thdnddr, and accountants, taldtis. Each
thdnddr has under him one or more taldtis who live with him and 1
not in the villages under their charge. They sometimes go to
their villages on duty and return to the tdluka town. The taldtis
are paid by the state in cash. In some villages there are hotvdls,
chiefly Bhils or Kolis who do miscellaneous work. Their place is
sometimes supplied by Bhangias or Dheds who are either paid in
grain by the villagers or enjoy rent-free land. Tracking is done by
rakhds and pagis. The rakhds are bound to pay compensation for ^
thefts committed in villages under their charge, the amount being
settled by a village committee or by the thdnddr or police officer.
The village artisans known as settlers, vasvdyds, are chiefly
potters, barbers, and tanners ; carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, and
shoemakers are found only in large villages. They are generally paid
in grain by the villagers, and by strangers or others in cash. The
Chamadias supply leather to cultivators for buckets, being paid ia
cash ; and sometimes when a cultivator gives up his buffalo's carcase
to a Chamadia, he is entitled to receive from him leather in exchange.
Except in Bhil villages where Eavalias act as priests and are on
special occasions fed and presented with grain, there are seldom
any village priests, gors. In a few villages shops are kept by
Vanias and Bohoras, who sell what is required by the villagers and
buy whatever local produce they can get cheap. These shop-keepers
have houses ia other places where they go when trade is dull.

Eewa Kantha Vanias seldom go to distant towns to trade. A
few Lunavada Bohoras have shops in Bassein, Mahim, Bombay,
and Poona, where they stop part of the year selling glassbeads,
bracelets, and other petty wares. Ahmedabad, Kaira, and Kathiawar
merchants come to Lunavada and Balasinor to buy grain, butter, oil,
and leather. Grodhra Bohoras and Anklesvar and Broach Parsis
come for mahuda flowers, mahuda berries, oil dolim, and timber. A
few Anklesvar Parsis have opened liquor shops in some Kajpipla
villages and live there part of the year. The Godhra Bohoras have
shops in the states of Bariya and Chhota Udepur. A few Vanias
of the Sankheda Mehvas and of the Gaikwar's territory trade
to Chhota Udepur. Some merchants of Ahmedabad, Kapadvanj,
and Baroda come here for Bombay hemp, san. A, few
Ahmedabad Vanias come to LunavMa town every year to sell bits
of Mnkhdb and silks for women's bodices. Some Visnagara
Nagar Brahmans of Lunavada go during the rainy season to Malwa
where they recite Purans or Veds. A few go to Kathiawar and
obtain money by reciting the Veds. Some Audich and Mevada
Brahmans of Lunavada go to Baroda and serve as cooks or water

Gujar4t.]

RBWA KANTHA.

carriers. A few Modh Brahmans of Balasinor go out on begging
tours. Of artisans, barbers go to Baroda where tliere is a great
demand for them. Carpenters seldom go out of the Rewa Kantha
limits, while bricklayers find employment at times in a few of the
Panch Mahals towns. Vagad stone-masons are sometimes employed
in Sunth and Lunavada as they are thought more skilful than the
local bricklayers. Marvadi blacksmiths who move from village to
village pick up odd jobs. Some Marvadi immigrants have settled
in the Eewa Kantha where they work as day-labourers. The
Ahmedabad Vaghris occasionally come here and either beg or in the
rainy season sow vegetables and sell them. The Bhils are migratory,
often changing their place of abode. They sometimes go to other
districts during the mahuda season to gather the flowers and
berries. Kanbis and other better class cultivators seldom move
into the Rewa Kantha, but Bhils from the Panch Mahals, and
Rathvas from Malwa sometimes settle in the wild parts of the
district.

Chapter III.
Population.

Movements of
the people.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

CHAPTER IV.

AGRICULTURE.

Chapter IV. Within the Eewa Kd,ntlia limits are great varieties of soil. In the

Agriculture. ^°^^ ^®^^ *^® ^^^ ^^^ ™ *^® south near the Narbada are rich
tracts of alluvial land. In Lun^vada and BdMsinor in the north,
light brown, gorddu, though not so rich as that of central Gujarat,
is the prevailing soil. There are also a few tracts of grey, besar,
land, generally growing rice. Near the river Shedhi are some
patches of land called bhejvdU, very damp and yielding a cold
weather crop of wheat and pulse, but not well suited for cotton.
In Sunth, the black, Mli, soil holds moisture well and without
watering yields two crops a year. The Bariya lands, light brown,
gorddu ; deep black, Icdli ; and sandy, retdl, are considered as good
as any in Grujarat and capable of yielding any crop, except tobacco.
The black loam of the Sankheda and Pandu Mehvas is nearly as
rich as the cotton lands of Amod and Jambusar in Broach. Eajpipla,
especially its Narbada districts, is exceedingly fertile. In the
hilly parts the soil varies much, but in the open districts it is
black throughout. Except a few tracts of rocky and inferior black
soil, the Rewa Kantha is on the whole fertile.

Tillage. In the open country, with Kanbis and other high class husbandmen,

the tillage is the same as in central Gujarat. In the hilly and
woody tracts inhabited by Bhils, Kolis, and other unsettled tribes,
cultivation is of the rudest kind. Most families have a few fields
and near every hut is a plot of ground called vdda or Icdchha, sown
with Indian corn or some other food grain. Manure is used only
for the plots near the houses, and is hardly enough even for them.
In Bariya and Eajpipla, the want is to some extent supplied by
burning dry sticks and leaves on the ground, shortly before the
rains (June) . This system of wood-ash manuring is called vdhdlra
in Bariya, and dddhia in Edjpipla. Among the Bhils, there is almost
no irrigation. The river banks are too steep to allow of their water
being used, and the people have neither the means nor the wish to
build wells. In ordinary years the black loamy soil keeps moist
enough to yield a cold weather crop and the want of water is not
felt. Their field tools are a small wooden plough, the coulter and
share formed of a bar of iron about three-quarters of an inch square,
its lower end pointed and slightly bent towards the front. Besides
the plough, they use a small pick, a hatchet, and a bill-hook. The
plough is used only by the better class of Bhils in lowland clearings.
Drawn by weak, ill-fed, oxen, it does little more than scratch the
surface of the ground. When the land is too rough for the plough.

Chdar&t]

REWA KlNTHA.

it is tilled with hoes and pickaxes j their rude carts are of wood
without a bit of iron, occasionally with wheels formed of solid
blocks of timber. The axle tree is generally of dhdman, Grevia
asiatica, a very tough white and plentiful wood.

The Tlewa Kantha Crops are, of Cereals : maize, makdi, Zea mays ;
rice, ddnqar, Oryza sativaj Indian millet, juvdr, Sorghum vulgare ;
millet, bwjri, Penicillaria spicata; barley, j ftv, Hordeura hexastiohon;
wheat, gfrtttw, Triticum Eestivum; rdjgaro, Amarantas paniculatns;
hodra, Paspalum scrobiculatum ; banii, Panicum spicatum ; bdvto,
Panicum frumentaceum ; hdng, Panicum italicum ;• chino, Panicum
maliaceum. The wheat grown in the district is of two kinds,
vdjia and kdtha. The rice is of a coarse description called vari.
Of hodra a kind called minia hodra has a narcotic, property,
which is to a certain extent neutralised by washing and drying two
or three times before grinding. Of Pulses : tuver, Cajanus indicus j
math, Phaseolus aconitifolius ; mag, Phaseolus radiatus ; adad,
Phaseolus mungoj vdl, Dolichos lablab ; gram, chana, Cicer arietinum;
peas, vatdna, Pisum sativum; and guvdr, Cyamopsis psoralioides.
Of Oil seeds ; castor oil seed, divela, Ricinus communis ; gingelly
oil seed, tal, Sesamum indicum ; and rape seed, sarsav, Brassica
napus. Of Fibres, cotton, kapds, Gossypium herbaceumj and
Bombay hemp, san, Crotalaria juncea. Of miscellaueous crops,
sugarcane, serdi, Saccharum officinarum ; and tobacco, tamhdku,
Nicotiana tabacum. Of Vegetables : potato, batdta or alohda,
Bolanum tuberosum ; sweet-potato, saharia, Convolvulus batatas ;
onions, hdnda, Allium cepa ; garlic, lasan, Alium sativum ; yam,
ratdlu, Dioscorea alata, and shingoda, Trapa bispinosa. The other
vegetables are, eggplant, vegan, vantidh or ringana, Solanum
melongena acute ; angled cucumber, turia, LufEa acutangula j galhu,.
Luffa petandria ; kdrela, Momordica charantia ; common cucumber,
hdhdi, Cucumis sativusj the long white gourd, dudfd bhopla,
Cucurbita longa ; and red pumpkin, kohlu, Cucurbita melopepo.
The root of the dudhi bhopla is said to be alterative and the seed
and juice of the bitter gdlku are violently emetic and cathartic.
When given in infusion they are a bitter tonic and a powerful
diuretic. The leaves of the bitter variety of the red pumpkin are
said to be useful in cases of jaundice. Chihan, a wild species of
kdhd>, is very cold and indigestible. Of Spices and Condiments
there are, turmeric, haldi, Curcuma longa ; chilly, marclii, Capsicum
annunm ; ginger, ddu, Zingiber officinale ; coriander, dhdna,
Coriandrum sativum ; and cumin seed, jwu, Cuminum cyminum.
Of Fruits, melon, shakarteti, hhadbucha, or gota, Cucumis melo;
water melon, tadbuch, Cucurbita citrallus; guava, jdmrukh or
jdmphdl, Psidium guava; custard apple, sitdphal, Anxiona, squamosa;
and plantain, kela, Musa paradisiaca. The fruit of the wild
plantain is too stunted and full of large seeds to be eaten.

Kolis, Bhils, and Naikdas form the bulk of the agricultural
classes. These are very indifEerent husbandmen and are in poor
circumstances. The higher class cultivators are Kanbis, Kdchhiels,
Malis, Pateliyds, and Rajputs.

Chapter IV.
Agricnltnre.^

Crops.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
40 STATES.

Chapter IV. a hilly well watered land, its rough tribes accustomed to live on

Agriculture. fruits, roots, and wild vegetables, Rewa Kantha, though it has
Famines. passed through years of great distress, has never been entirely

wasted by famine. The first famine of which the memory remains
was in 1746-47. Hardly any rain fell, and the crops did not ripen.
Many people died, but the wild inhabitants kept themselves and
their cattle alive by eating forest roots and locusts which abounded
at the time. The next year of scarcity 1790-91, caused by the
failure of rain, appears to have been the nearest approach to a
general famine on record. Poor people sold their children. The
Bhils lived on wild roots and berries. Many lives were lost and
much cattle perished, and the country was infested with bands
of marauders. The chiefs doled out daily food to the destitute,
but no public works were undertaken. Another failure of rain
caused scarcity in 1802, but the distress was not so great nor the
failure of crops so general. In the famine of 1812-13 the distress
was almost as severe as in 1790-91. Millet was sold at eight pounds
the rupee, and rice at six pounds, and as in 1 790, from the state
stores doles of grain were distributed. Twelve years later the season
of 1825 was one of scarcity, but of no widespread suffering. In
1833-34 matters were worse. The rainfall was scanty and the small
harvest was destroyed by swarms of locusts. Still there was grain
in the country, and the people helped by their chiefs passed through
the time of scarcity without much loss of life or of cattle. The British
G-ovemment remitted £5295 4s. lid. (Rs. 52,952-5-3) from the
tribute. Since 1834 there has been no famine. On account of
scanty rainfall, £2790 6s. 9d. (Rs. 27,903-6-0) of tribute were
remitted in 1839, and £426 18s. (Rs. 4269) in 1849. In 1864
scanty crops and the very high value of cotton raised millet to
twenty-two pounds the rupee, and caused much distress among
the poorer classes. During the last two years (1877-78), the great
exports of grain to the Deccan and Southern Maratha districts,
and poor local harvests have once more brought back prices to famine
pitch, millet selling in 1878 at fifteen, and rice at ten pounds the
rupee.

Oujarit]

CHAPTER V.

CAPITAL.

The cMef money-lenders are Vanias and Bralinians. Of bankers
there are only a few in sucli large towns as Nandod, Lunavada, and
Balasinor. In smaller towns some bankers deal in grain and otber
articles. Others bav^e shops in villages, living there part of the
year, and making bargains with the people, advancing them money
and seed. In the Rewa Kantha every Bhil or Koli has his own V£nia or
other money-lender who has more power over him than even his chief.
So much is this the case that sometimes a village is spoken of as
so and so's village not because he is its owner but because its people
are his debtors. In bad years the money-lender sometimes helps
his debtors with new loans of money or seed grain. If he refuses,
the Bhils apply to some one else and the first creditor would then
have little chance of recovering his money. Debts are handed down
from father to son, many of the poorer classes passing their whole
life, sunk in debt. Harvest over, the money-lender with one or two
friends starts on ■ a collecting tour. And while in his village the
debtor, however poor, has to pay his share of the money-lender's
expenses. With much wrangling, in which the ignorant Bhil is
always worsted, the accounts are balanced, the debt running on
while the original amount lent continues to increase. Money or
grain is taken in part payment of debts, and however scanty his
debtor's stock of grain, as much as can be seized is carried off.
Except when his payments stop for two or three years, and he finds
that his debtor has begun to raise money from some one else, the
creditor seldom takes his debtor into a civil court. If he does, as
a rule, he makes little by it, as the whole of his debtor's property
is seldom enough to satisfy the decree.

"When a lender is put in possession of a house or a plot of land, as
a rule, no interest is charged. When a gold or silver ornament is
pledged, the yearly interest varies from three to six per cent, and on
personal security the well-to-do borrow at from six to twelve per
cent. In the case of Bhils, Kolis, and others of the lower classes, at
ddvdli in October the beginning of the new year, a quarter of the
amount due is added to the principal, and if the whole is not paid
during the year, at the beginning of the next, a quarter of the enhanced
principal is again added. This system is known as savm or one
and a quarter. For seed grain one-quarter or one-haK as much again
as the original and sometimes even double the sum originally lent,
is recovered either ia cash or in grain. Except alienated or part
alienated holdings, from the large area of waste arable land and the
uncertainty of tenure the right of occupancy haa no sale or mortgage
B 236—6

Chapter V.

Capital-
Capitalists.

Interest.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter Y^
Capital.

Interest

Craftsmen.

value. Mortgaged alienated land may be redeemed at any time.
Bhils and Kolis have no ornaments of value. Among them buffaloes
or bullocks are the only movable property ever pledged. When
cattle are pawned they generally remain with the borrower. Their
huts would not be taken in mortgage. They are of no money value,
and the timber and building site belong to the chief. Except when
they have cattle to pledge, the poorer classes borrow either on their
own or their friends' personal security. Their indebtedness is a
by-word and their want of common care or thrift leaves them in
their creditors' hands. A large number of money-lenders live on
their debtors and a few grow rich. But the Bhilsj when too hard
pressed, are ready to leave the district, and the interest actually
recovered is said to be not more than from six to twelve per cent on
the sum advanced.

The district has few craftsmen. In the rural parts the Kolis,
Bhils, and other poor tribes supply their own wants, making tools,
carts, and huts, and in the towns the want of well-to-do customers, and
the heavy labour and money taxes keep down the number of crafts-
men. In some states when the chief wants work done, artisans are
brought and forced to work without pay. In other states, when working
for the chief, the better class of artisans, carpenters, bricklayers, and
tailors are paid half their market wages, and potters and other lower
workers get a day's supply of grain. In badly managed states this
labour tax does not stop with the chief, but is levied by all state
servants and relations. That these demands may be spread over
the whole caste, the headman arranges that the members of the caste
should work for the chief in turn. There are no trade guilds
including the members of several castes. But among craftsmen of
the same caste certain rules about work and wages are laid down
and any one breaking them runs the risk of being thrown out of
caste. If a caste-fellow dies, on the 11th, 12th, and 13th day after
his death, and on caste-feast days, carpenters and bricklayers are
not allowed to work. They may not take less than the regular
wages, and in Lun^vada town, are forbidden under fine from taking
work on contract. In these two castes the headmen arrange that
the members should in turn work for any one unable to work for
himself. No barber is allowed to shave any one but the people of hia
own village. In the large towns the craftsmen show no lack of skill,
and when well paid and given good materials, do as good work as
in other parts of Gujarat.

Carpenters are paid daily at rates varying from 9d.-2s.
(6 as. - Re. 1).-^ When the lower rates are paid, they are
generally given food in addition to their money wage. Their
women do not help in their work. But when grown up their
sons add to the family earnings. Bricklayers are paid less than
carpenters, generally from 9^. - Is. 6c?. (6 - 12 as.) a day. Stone
masons earn good wages Is. 6^^. (12 as.) a day with, when they
come from Meywar, their food besides. A skilled goldsmith makes

I A carpenter's wage in LunAvAda is now (1879) Is. ^id. (13 annas).

Gnjardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

from £30 to £50 (Rs. 300 - 500) a year, and one less skilled who
makes brass and tin ornaments for Bhil women about £10 (Rs. 100).
A skilled worker earns more, but an ordinary blacksmith's daily
wage varies from 6fc?. - 9|c?. ( as. 4-3 to 6-4). A tailor's earnings
range from 6f d. - 9^d. (as. 4-3 to 6-4) a day. If specially skilled
they may rise to Is. (8 as.). An ordinary barber makes from 16s. -
£1 (Rs. 8-10) a month. A specially good man may earn as much as
£1 4s. or £1 10s. (Rs. 12 or 15). A cotton cleaner, pinja/ra, makes
from 12s. - 16s. (Rs. 6 - 8) a month, and a shoemaker from 16s. -
£1 10s. (Rs. 8-15). The monthly wage of a dyer is from £1 -
£14s. (Rs. 10-12), and of a weaver from 16s. - £1 (Rs. 8- 10).
Among these craftsmen those who work at home such as furniture-
makers, turners, goldsmiths and blacksmiths, are helped by their
women in parts of their work that need no skill. Tailors' and gold-
smiths' wives do som.e ordinary work and add to the family earnings.
The clerks, gumdstds, of bankers and well-to-do traders are paid
from £5 - £25 (Rs. 50 - 250) a year. A day-labourer's wage is
for a man from dd. - 6d. (2-4 as.) ; for a woman from 2|cZ. - 3d.
(1| - 2 OS.) ; and for boys and girls from %d. - 2JcZ.(2 pice - 1| as.)
Almost all wages, both of craftsmen and day-labourers, are paid
either in cash or in grain, or in both.

The current coins are silver rupees and copper pice. No rupees
are coined in the district. The Baroda or siydsi rupee passes all
over the Rewa Kantha and the Broach rupee in* the Rajpipla state.
The Imperial rupee is used only to a small extent. Lunavada, Sunth,
and Chiota Udepur have their own copper coinage passing only
within their own limits. In Bariya the old or Godharia copper pice,
and in Rajpipla Oambay pice, are current. The value of the pice is
subject to great changes, the Baroda rupee representing at different
times from seventy to ninety pice. When a half pice is to be
paid the pice is cut or broken into two pieces, and one does duty as
a half pice. The Imperial copper coins are current in all states, a
Baroda rupee changing for fifty-six and a Broach rupee for about
sixty-three Imperial pice.

In former times, the absence af a local town population and the
want of good secure roads, made grain- prices lower in Rewa Kantha
than in any other part of Gujarat. But of late years the opening
of the railway line to Pali, the making of good roads and the
establishment of a better police have raised Rewa Kantha grain, prices
to the level of other parts of the province. A statement of produce
prices reaching as far back as 1834 is given below. Up to 1871 the
figures refer only to Lunavada. Since then they are supposed to
represent the average prices over the whole district. Excluding
the years of scarcity the whole may be divided into three periods. 1834
was a year of scarcity. 1835 to 1842 was a time of moderate rates, the
price of hdjri,the staple grain, varying from twenty in 1838 a year of

Chapter V
Capital

Wages.

1 In the Sunth town of Rimpur, Indian com was once lower than 160 lbs.
(4 mans) the rupee. Chafing under his loss of profit, a grain merchant struck a heap
of com with his shoe, and for this insult to Annadev, the god of food, was fined by the
Sunth chief.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter V.

Capital.

Prices,

scanty rainfall, to seventy-eight and a half in 1841, and averaging
fifty rone pounds. This was followed by eighteen years of cheap
grain, prices varying from fifty-eight and a half in 1846 to 101 in
1850, and averaging eighty pounds. The next sixteen years was a
period of high prices varying from twenty-two in 1864 the American
war time, known as the dhadinu dhdn or the ten ser year, to fifty-one
in 1874 and averaging thirty-eight pounds. Lastly in 1877, from
the famine in the Deccan and Madras, millet prices rose from fifty
to thirty pounds, and in 1878 a local failure pf crops forced them up
to fifteen pounds.

Bewa Kdntha Produce Prices, 1834- 1878, i 1

PRODnOK.

SoAa-

CMY.

First Pbriod
(1835-1842).

Sbcond Period ^ >
(1843-1860).

1834

1836

1836.

1837

1838.

1839.

1840.

184

11842

1^43.

1844

. 1846.

1846.

18'<7

Indlanmillet, hajri.

Indian com

Bice

Wheat

Gram

False, iwoer

26i

42
49
60
26
46

68
62
80
65
75

60
75

100
62

104

20
75
85
69
102J

47i

60
87
62
364

6.64

78
101
46
33
66

4 674
934
70
28
85

90
100
80
62
35

85
1124

874
136

81
110

774

57
100

684

674

"7^
178
824
30
74

Sboonb VmiOB—amUraiei.

FnoDUCE.

1848.

1849.

99
183^
60
44
724

1850.

1851.

1852,

1853.

1854.

1866.

1856.

1857.

1868.

13S9.

1860

Indian millet, bajri.

Indian com

Bice

Wheat

Giam

Fulse, timer

85
62
86

101

129

>B7

87
120
80
67
93

90
110
75
66
96

86
1124

97i

76
1114

86|
1034
105

100

110

714

674

114

120

624

1154
66
103

70
105

684-
100

60
64
60

38
80

Thied Period (1861-1876).

Proddcb.

1861.

1862.

1863.

1864.

1866.

1S66.

1867.

1868,

1869.

Indian millet, bajri.

Indian corn

Eioe

Wheat

Gram

PuUe, iuoer

«4

464

27
42

22
39
27
17
264

174

44
60
22
23
23

62
42
24
39

534

204

324

184

Third Pbeiod (1861 - 1876)— comKbwA 1

SCARcnre.

Fboducb,

1870.

1871.

1872.

1873.

1874.

1875.

1876.

1877.

1878.

Indian millet, bdjri.

Indian corn

Bice

Wheat

Gram

Fulae, tmer

364
29
22
874

46i

39
49
22

45
17

40
53
284

49
20

864
.31

49
23

48
61
30

60
33

50
63
29

64
48

30
31
21

60
22

16
16

17
12

The weights and measures current in the Eewa Kantha are the
same as those in other parts of Gujarat. The tola is equal to the
weight of a Baroda rupee minus two ratis, and of an Imperial
rupee minus 1^ vols. The ser is equal to forty Imperial rupees.
Grain and mahuda are weighed in mans, and manis of twelve mans

Gtijar&t]

RBWA KANTHA.

each. A hundred manis make one mandsa and 100 mam.dsds make
a handso. In Baroda, mahuda is weighed by the halsi equal to
sixteen mans. In Lunavada a rmido of cement, chho, weighs fifty
mans. A carpenter's and cloth vendor's yard, gaj, is twenty-four
inches, and a tailor's twenty-six. Cloth is measured by the hath,
rather variable, but on the whole corresponding with the cubit.
In Lunavada, where the survey system has been introduced,
land is measured by acres and fortieths, gunthds, and in Eajpipla,
the Sankheda Mehvas, and a part of Pandu Mehvas, by
kumbhds of nearly an acre, and in the remaining states by highds of
about half an acre. The bigha seems to be of recent origin. In old
title deeds land is marked either by its boundaries or by the amount
of a certain seed that might be sown in it. The Rewa Kantha
hv/mbha is said to be the same as the Broach measure, but in practice
it would seem to be somewhat larger. The weights in ordinary use
are pieces of iron or stone. In the states under British manage-
ment, these weights are from time to time tested by the police, when
anything wanting is made up by adding a piece of iron.

Chapter V.

Capital

Weights and
MeasureB.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter VI.
Trade.

£oad9.

CHAPTER VI.

TRADE.

The Eewa Kantha trade and the Panel. MaMls trade are in many
points alike. Botli have a through traffic between G-ujarat and
Central India, and a local trade west with Gujarat and east with
Rajputana, Central India, and Khandesh. And in both districts,
whale the opening of railways through Gujarat has increased the local
trade westwards, the through trade has dwindled, the old straight
routes with their rough roads and heavy dues faUitig to compete
with the safe railway journey by Bombay and Khandesh to Indor.

Formerly Eewa Kantha trade westwards set towards the
coast, most of it centering in the ports of Jambusar and Broach.
It is now diverted to the line of the Bombay Baroda and
Central India Eailway, the western limit of all the roads leading
from the Eewa Kantha to Gujardt. Besides the main line of
railway running north and south, two feeders, in the north one
from Anand to Pali, and in the south one from Karjan to Chanod,
pass east towards the Eewa Kantha.^ The Eewa Kantha roads
end westwards in Pali, Baroda, Dabhoi, Chanod, Anklesvar, and
Panoli, and eastwards in Dungarpur, Jhalod, Dohad, Ali Eajpur,
Indor, and Kukarmunda. Though most of them are fit for carts,
these roads, except the main line from Godhra to Dohad, are country
tracks neither metalled nor bridged. They may be brought under
four groups, centering at Pali, Baroda, Dabhoi, and Aiklesvar.
At Pali seven roads meet : a Dungarpur road running south through
Pandarvada, Virpur, Vardhari, and Balasinor ; 2, a Dungarpur road
running south-west through Lunavada, Vardhari, and Balasinor ; 3,
a, Jhalod road running south-west through Eampur, Lunavada, and
Balasinor ; 4, a Jhalod roadrunning south through Sanjeli andShera;.
5, a Jhalod road running further south through Eandhikpur and
Godhra^ ; 6, the great high road from Dohad west through Piplod and
Godhra ; and 7, a second Dohad road through Bariya and Godhra.
Four lines center at Baroda : 1, several small tracts from the Mehvas
estates northward along the Mahi; 2, the Dohad road leading
south-west through Bariya and Kalol j 3, the Jabua road passing from
Central India west through KakurkhUa, Sagtala, Eajgad, and
Kanjari;and4, the ChhotaUdepurroadwestthrough Jetpur, Jabugam

1 A third branch line is now being made from Dabhoi to Badharpur in Baroda
territory.

2 A new road has lately (1879) been made from JhAlod through Dudhia under
Bariya, running into the main Godhra-Dohad ifoad.

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

and Vagoria. Three roads center at Dabhoij 1, tte Cliliota Udepur
road sou-thwest through Jetpur, Jabugamj and Sankheda ; 2, the
Panvad road west through Vasna and Sankheda ; and 3, a second
Panvad road passing through Karali and Sankheda. Five roada
center at Anklesvar ; 1, the Ali Rajpur road south-west through
Chhota Udepur, Karali, Vasna, Nasvadi, Tilakvada, and Nandod;
2, a Panvad road joining the Ali Rajpur road at Karali ; 3, a Panvad
road j oiniug the Ali Rajpur road at Vasna ; 4, the Kavant road
running west through Nasvadi, Alva, Virpur, and Nandod, and from
Nandod passing south-west through Avidha, Jagadia, and Grovali ;
and 5, a road from Kukarmunda on the Tapti, west through Pat,
Badadev, Patav, and Dharoli. Only one road reaches Panoli from
Kukarmunda through Badadev and Luna.

Besides these a road fit for carts runs 114 miles north and south from
Kadana on the Mahi to within a few miles of the Narbada at Hamp.
This road passes through Sunth eight miles, Rampur four miles,
Sanjeli twelve miles, Randhikpur eight miles, Piplod twelve miles,
Bariya eight miles, Sagt^la eleven miles, Chhota Udepur twenty-five
miles, Panvad eight miles, Kavant eight miles, and Karapani ten
miles. From Karapani ten miles on to the Narbada it is fit only for
horses or bullocks. This and other roads crossing the main stream of
traffics are, except as feeders, of small commercial value.

The following details show the present traffic along the chief
lines of road. Of the Pali roads the most northerly enters the
Rewa Kantha at the village of Detvas in Kadana territory. Beyond
Detvas there is hardly any cart traffic. Almost every thing is
carried on pack bullocks, the Vanjaras bringing grain and opium
to Gujarat and taking back salt, tobacco, and cloth. At Detvas
the road divides, one branch turning to the west by Virpur, the
other keeping more directly south to Lunavada. From Detvas the
west branch passes through Pandarvada ten miles, and Virpur sixteen
miles. Bach of these places is a local trade center, Pandarvada for
the surrounding Lunavada district, and Virpur for the sub-division,
pargana, of that name under Balasinor. From these two places
the district produce, grain, mahuda oil, clarified butter, and timber,
is sent to Grujarat, and tobacco, spices, iron, copper, salt, and cloth
are brought back. From Virpur the road runs south twelve miles
to Vardhari, where it is joined by the south branch. This south
branch leaving Detvas passes through Khanpur twelve miles, crosses
the Bhadar river to Madhvas eight miles, crosses the Mahi to
Lunavada seven miles, to Champeli six miles, and crosses the Mahi
again to Vardhari eight miles, or a total distance of forty-one
miles. Of the two branches the west or Virpur, shorter, free from
a double passage of the Mahi, and in every way better, is used by
the through G-ujarat trade. The town of Lunavada (9662 souls)
draws considerable local traffic along the south route. The third
of the Pali roads, coming from Jbalod, enters the Sunth state at a
village called Kundla four miles west of Jhalod. Until very lately
this road passed through the state to Lunavada by Parthampur
eleven miles, Anjanva twelve miles, and Baela seven miles, to
Lunavada six miles, a total distance of 36 miles. After leaving

Chapter VI.
Trade.

Roads.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
48 STATES.

Chapter VI- Parthampur it enters some difficult passes, where until lately
Trade. travellers ran so great a chance of being robbed and ill treated, that

Roaa ^®^y little traffic passed along it. Since the death of the Sunth

chief (1872) a new road has been opened through Rampur five
miles, from Parthampur to Sunth two miles, thence to Sarsav six
miles, to Thamba seven miles, and to Lunavada seven miles.
Though a little longer this road is safer and has the advantage
of passing through Rampur, a local trade center of some consequence.
From Rampur through Sunth to the plain country beyond,
this road in four miles passes through no less than four ranges of
hills. But crossing them by the help of gaps it is nowhere very
steep, and is well guarded by police posts. Before 1872, bands of
travellers used in fear and trembling to make their painful way
on foot or horseback over a mountain path, now the post passes
regularly and single carts can travel without an escort. The next
important line of communication is the fourth of the Pali lines,
the south Jhalod road by Sanjeli and Shera. This, much used
by traders, passes through about eleven miles of Sanjeli territory.
The fifth Pali line, the Jhalod and Randhikpur road, passing
through some rather rough .country, carries much the same trade as
the Jhalod and Shera line. The sixth Pali line, the great high road
from Dohad to Grodhra, passing through twenty miles of Bariya
territory is the only first class road in the whole of Rewa Kantha.
It is bridged and metalled, and has a steadily growing traffic.
Formerly travellers ran great risk of being robbed, now by clearing
forests and placing police posts, all danger has been removed. Of
its cross country feeders the chief are from Dudhia and Bandibar on
the north, and Bariya on the south. A road now being made from
Ashadi on the high road to Bariya will keep the Bariya traffic open
throughout the year. Another road between Dohad and Godhra
passing through Bariya, Damavav, and Simalia, is very rough,
winding through several hill passes. Since the opening of the great
high road, this route is, except for local Bariya traffic, little used.

Of the roads that end in Baroda, those from the Mehvas
estates on the Mahi, passing chiefly through Gaikwar territory
are common country tracks. The Bariya and Baroda ,road
leaves Bariya by the east gate and after a mile and a half
crosses the Panam river j thence it goes through a moderately
flat and wooded country eight miles to Damavav, and thence
passing through Simalia three miles, where there is a police station
and wood mart, and crossing the river Goma it passes into Kalol
about thirteen miles from Bariya. The Jalena and Baroda road
enters Bariya territory at Kakarkhila. Then passing over the two
rough Khalta and Kansara ridges, it crosses the Valva river and
passing two villages belonging to Ratanmal which are embedded
in Bariya territory, it reaches the Panam river about twelve miles
from the frontier. Up to this point the road is very rugged and
before 1875 was not fit for carts. Since 1875 the passes have been
put in order and carts can travel. After crossing the Panam the
road leads through a wooded country almost due west to Sagtala
twelve miles. Here in the heart of the Naikda country is a post,
thdna, and from it a road leads north to Bariya eleven miles. This

RBWA KlNTHA. 49

road has lately been cleared of brushwood and by day or night can Chapter VI.
be safely used. From Sdgtala the western route passes without Trade.

difficulty sixteen miles west over high ground to Rajgad, the head-
quarters of another sub-division. From Rajgad there are three »<>«<»•
routes to Baroda, one through Kalol, another through Kanjeri
two miles from Halol, and the third through Champaner. The
second is the straightest and most used. The distance from
Rajgad to the frontier of the Bariya state by any of these routes is
not more than five or six miles.

The remaining roads, that running east and west center in Dabhoi
and Anklesvar, all lie to the south of Pavagad and the chain of
hills which forms the water-shed between the Mahi and Narbada
basins. The first in order is that from Malwa to Gujarat along the
Or valley. This road comes from Ali Rajpur and enters Chhota
Udepur at the village of Kharakvada. Winding through the hills it
reaches to Or about ten miles from the frontier, and after crossing
it runs close along its right bank to Chhota Udepur seven miles
further on, thence still skirting the right bank of the river it passes
through Jejgad eight miles, Jetpur five miles, to Jabugam seven
miles, crossing the frontier three miles further on into Gaikwar
territory. Thence there are two routes, one direct to Baroda
through Vaghoria ; the other to Dabhoi through Makhni, Sankheda,
and Badharpur. The former of these, not more than 250 miles long,
is the shortest and most direct route from Indor to Baroda. If the
chiefs through whose lands it passes were to improve the present
rough track, save travellers from robbery, and lower their transit
dues, this might be made a most important line of communication.
At present it has not one-tenth of the traffic it might have. Indor
and Baroda merchants prefer to send their goods from one place to
the other by rail through Bombay rather than trust them to the
rough usage and exorbitant demands on the direct route. Within
Rewa Kantha limits the line presents no difficulties. The country
is level, the soil light and sandy, and the rivers few and easily
bridged. But for through traffic, unless some change can be made
all along the line, it is of little use to improve the Rewa Kantha
section alone.

The next line is the part of the Mhow and Dabhoi road that passes
through Chhota Udepur. This road enters Rewa Kantha three
miles east of Panvad. West of this village the road divides, one
branch passes north through Karali fifteen miles, and thence
towards Sankheda seven miles, to the frontier. The other branch
passes west along the Heran valley and by Vasna a Gaikwar
village, eighteen miles from Panvad. Of these the north branch is
less hilly and rugged, but neither of them is much used. Almost
all the traffic finds its way through the Sankheda Mehvas, and
crossing the Narbada reaches the Baroda railway at Anklesvar.
Of these branches one from Chhota Udepur through Karali sixteen
miles, and the other from Panvad meet at Vasna and continue in
one line as far as Nasvadi, seven miles. Here they are joined by a
lower road which passes through Kavant. This line enters Udepur
territory about eight miles to the east of Kavant, and thence through
B 561— 7+-

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter VI.
Trade.

Boads.

Ferries.

Palasni sixteen miles to Nasvddi six miles. From Nasvadi the
united road passes south through Savli six miles, to Alva three
miles, Uchhad three miles, and Virpur three miles, where it crosses
the Narbada. Another route of about the same length crosses the
Narbada two miles lower at Tilakvada.

As the Narbada cannot be forded at either crossing the traffic
'through the Udepur state and Sankheda Mehvas is almost entirely
on pack bullocks. After crossiag the Narbada, the united road
passes eight miles through country much broken by ravines to
Nandod, the capital of Eajpipla. A mile west of Nandod it crosses
the Karjan river at a ford, and thence passes through Partapnagar
■eight miles, Haripura eight miles, Avidha five miles, Jagadia five
miles, and Govali four miles to the frontier of the Eajpipla state
three miles further on and about four miles from Anklesvar station.
Between the Karjan and the frontier this road crosses many small
streams and is used only during the fair weather. Lately (1875)
the Raja of Rajpipla has had surveys and estimates prepared for a
bridged road along this route. This when finished will be a great
boon to the people of the district.

The next important line is that from Kbandesh to Gujdrat
through Rajpipla. This road after leaving Kukarmunda on the Tapti
and passing through eighteen miles of Khandesh enters Rajpipla a
little to the south of Sagbara, and through Pat five miles, and Kupi six
miles, divides at Badadev, eight miles further on. Prom Badadev
the upper road follows the course of the Karjan river for five miles
to Vadvadra ; then turning west it passes through Motra ten miles,
and Patar ten mUes to Dharol four miles, and reaches the western
frontier of the state eight miles further on, and about the same distance
from Anklesvar. The lower road after crossing the Karjan at Badadev
winds through the hills to Khamb, nine miles, thence passing a range
about 600 feet high it crosses the Tokri river, sixteen miles, and at
Luna, three miles, crosses the Kim. Six miles further it reaches the
west boundary of the state about seven miles from Panoli on the
Bare da railway. Both these routes were once lines of great traffic, but
are now very neglected. They are mere cart tracks passing through
dense forest and hills, badly provided with water, and with no village
accommodation for travellers. Prom the carelessness of the Eajpipla
chiefs almost all through trade has left them.

This completes the description of the chief lin.es of road between
Rajputana, Malwa, and Gujarat. The increase of its local traffic
shows how keenly traders feel the advantage of a thoroughly
well made road like that from Godhra to Dohad. But east of
Dohad the Central India chiefs do nothing to improve their roads
and their heavy transit dues are, especially since the opening of
the Indor railway, driving trade from the direct route round by
rail through Bombay.

The small streams and water-courses need no ferries. During
the rains no carts can move, and foot and horse travellers can
always easily ford the streams. At other times all traffic passes
without hindrance. During the rains and the first months of the
cold weather the Mahi and Narbada cannot be forded. The chief

OiV'arit.]

REWA KlNTHA.

places -where they can be crossed during the hot months have been
mentioned under the head 'Rivers.' The Narbada can be passed
without much difficulty. But its banks are so steep and its bed so
heavy with sand and shingle, that to pass the Mahi is always a
work of great labour. Across the Narbada, when it cannot be
forded, at Chanod, Vadia, and Tilakvada, goods and passengers are
carried in small well built ferry boats. On the Mahi at Lunavada
and Kadana small uncouth canoes hollowed out of simla wood
and generally tied two together take the place of ferry boats. The
right of plying these canoes is every year farmed by the state to
the highest bidder. At Lunavada when the Panam is in flood,
under charge of ferrymen of the Bhoi caste, travellers put their
clothes in three or four empty narrow-necked earthen jars, golds,
tied together by the necks. These the fishermen force mouth-down
under the water, and the traveller either sitting on them or leaning
over them, as in swimming, is with the help of the Bhois ferried
across.

There are six post offices, four at Balasinor, Bariya, Lunavada,
and Rampur maintained by the British Grovemment, and two at
Chhota Udepur and Nandod by the Udepur and Rajpipla chiefs.

The Rewa Kantha with its scanty unsettled population has little
trade and few manufactures. Trade comes under two heads, home
trade and outside trade. The home trade is carried on by Vanias
and a few Bohoras and Parsi shopkeepers. These petty traders,
advancing money or seed to the peasants, are paid in gi-ain at
harvest time. This they either sell in the district, or send to other
Gujarat market towns. Well-to-do husbandmen sell the produce
of their fields to the local grain dealers or send it where they find
the best market. The outside trade is carried on by the better class
of husbandmen and by strangers, some of them from the Panch
Mahals and Kaira, and others from Broach and Surat. These men
especially in October, Divdli, at the early harvest time come in
numbers into the hilly districts and barter with the Bhiis taking their
spare stores of rice and pulse and giving cloth, tobacco, molasses,
salt, salt-fish, and spices. Many Parsis chiefly from Anklesvar have
settled among the Rajpipla Bhils, getting in exchange for liquor and
rent advances, large quantities of grain and cl'arffied butter.^ Another
branch of the outside trade is in the hands of Vanjaras and Charans.
The Vanjaras whose head-quarters are in Malwa, Khandesh, and
Meywdr bring droves of pack bullocks into Gujarat laden with
grain and go back with loads of salt. On their way they do a
little business with the Rewa Kantha Bhils. The Charans in smaller
numbers come from Kathiawar and follow the same track as the
Vanjaras. They also carry on a sin all trade with the Bhils giving
them bullocks and buffaloes and getting the price either paid down
in cash or in grain in the next year.

The chief Rewa Kantha exports are of field produce, grain of all
kinds, cotton, oil seeds including castor oil, diveli, sesamum or

Chapter VI.
Trade.

Ferries.

Post

Trade.

Exports.

' Bom. 007. Sel. XXIII. 316, 317.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter VI.
Trade,

Exports.

gingelly, tal, and rape, sarsav, safflower, tobacco ; of forest produce,
mahuda flower and fruit, timber, firewood, bamboos, and catecbu,
hatha ; of animal produce, clarified butter, honey, bees' wax, lac, wool,
and bides ; and of manufactured articles, grind-stones, stone-platters,
and soap.

Grain, cbiefly millet, Indian corn, pulse, and oil seed, goes in
large quantities from all Rewa Kantba states to the nearest railway
station, or to any Gujarat market where prices are favourable.
Cotton is grown chiefly in the Pandu Mehvas on the noth-west and
in the Sankheda Mehvas and in some parts of Rajpipla in the south.
Eajpipla cotton of an average value of about £30,000 (Rs. 3,o0,O00)
is brought to Anklesvar, cleaned in steam European ginning
factories, and sent to Bombay. Cotton from the Sankheda Mehvas
■worth in ordinary years about £2000 (Rs. 20,000) is sent chiefly to
Dabhoi, ginned there and forwarded by rail to Bombay. The Pandu
Mehvas cotton is also sent to Bombay chiefly from the Baroda and
Pali stations. Clarified butter and oil seeds go in large quantities
to the neighbouring market towns of Gujarat.

The most important Rewa Kantha exports are forest produce,
timber, firewood, bamboos, and mahuda flowers. As regards timber
cutting, except the old charge an export fee on every cart-load of
timber, the rules vary greatly iu the different states. In Balasinor
and the Pandu Mehvas in the north-east, and in the Sankheda
Mehvas in the south, timber is so scarce that only a very little is
exported. In Lunavada, only husbandmen are allowed to fell timber
free of charge for their houses, carts, and field tools. Others have
to pay for the timber cut. In Sunth any one may fell timber but
only for local consumption. Prom these places little timber is
exported. On the other hand in Bariya, Chhota Udepur, and
Rajpipla, except that outsiders have to pay a fee, there is scarcely
any restriction on the felling of timber. The hills to the north-east
of Rajpipla, though they suffer froni yearly burnings, have some
fine timber. But it is most difficult to get at, and, except a little
floated down the Narbada to Chanod and Sinor, none is exported.
The work of cutting timber and fioating it down the Narbada is
followed by a special class of Bhils known as Kahddis ^ or timber
carriers. Teak is chiefiy found in the south-east of Rajpipla, in
Sagbara the teak, sag, land, and in Nansar, Panchmoli, and Ganva.
It is cut about Holi time (April), after the forests have been fired, and
during the rains is floated down the Tapti. Without its wood trade
the people of Bariya would be very badly off. From very old times
the husbandmen have been allowed to cut, and on the payment of a
small fee to export, timber. So dependent are they on the wood
trade that they are seldom able to pay the duty till on their way
back after selling the timber. The chief sorts of wood exported are
teak, liher, saciar, and biifa, all used in house building andboughtin
large quantities in Baroda, Godhra, Pali, and other Gujarat markets.

1 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 279 and 305, The word Kabddis comes from kabiid,
timber.

(}i\jar&t.]

REWA KlNTHA.

Mahuda trees grow in great numbers in Bariya and Clihota
Udapur. In Bariya alone there are bilieved to ba from 20,000 to
25,oOJ trees.^ The Bhils and Kolis of those parts set so high a
value on mahuda, trees that they are often the cause of bloody feuds.
Most of them careless husbandmen and sunk in debt, their little
store of grain is soon either wasted or made over to a creditor.
They pay their rents from timber and live almost entirely on the
proceeds of the mahuda flowers, which they gather at the end of
the cold season (March) and sell to the nearest Vania or Bohora. A
Bhil woman looks on the mahuda flower as her parent from whose
kindness alone she can buy a petticoat, or a bit of cloth for a bodice.
When mahuda flowers are scarce, or when the price is low, the
Bhils are in a very bad plight, finding the greatest difficulty in
keeping body and soul together.*

Of minor forest produce honey is found in the wild parts of the
Rewa Kantha. There are two chief sorts, a better called rice honey,
dcbiigariu, made at the time of the rice harvest (November), white,
very sweet, and about as thick as frozen butter, and a poorer sort
called hesudiu, or khdkhru, Butea frondosa, honey made in spring
(April) when that tree is in flower. The honey is gathered by Bhils
and Naikdas, bought from them by Vanias and Bohoras, and sent to
different parts of Gujarat, where especially the ddngariu fetches
high prices.

Grum, lac, and other minor forest products are largely exported
by patty traders, who pay the state a small yearly sum for the right
of opening shops in the Bhil, Koli, and Naikda villages. G-um, chiefly
from the bdval. Acacia arabica, kher, Acacia catechu, and dhdvda,
Anogeissus latifolia trees, is gathered by Bhils and Kolis and sold
to Vanias who export it. At Lunavada hduali gum is sold at 3d. a
pound (Rs. 5 a man); hheri at Qd. a pound (Rs. 10 a man) ; and
dhduda at 1 fcZ. a pound (Rs. 3 a man) . The gum, supposed to be
strengthening, is largely used, especially by women at the time of
child birth. The dhduda gum is also used in dyeing cloth. The export
of lac was in the seventeenth century * a very large trade, and is still
of some importance. The chief la3-yielding trees are khdkhra,
Butea frondosa, and fipla, Ficus religiosa. The lac is gathered by

Chapter VI.
Trade.

Exports.

> Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 153.

' The following details give some idea of the value of the BAriya mahuda crop, In
187.3-74, at the rate of l^d. on forty pounds (I anna a man) the export mahuda duty
yielded £865 10s. 6d. (Rs. 8555-40). This implies a total of (1,. 38,484 mans) or at
the rate Is. for forty pounds, the local price in that year, a total revenue of £6924 4».
(Ks. 69,2i2). During the last five years the price of mahuda in B >riya has varied
from £2 to 8s. (Ks. 20 - 4), and averaged 18s. (Ks. 9). Mahuda is exported from the
other Rewa KAutha states also, but in smaller quantities.

' Sankheda (1638) produced every year 25,000 pounds of lac. Mandelslo in Harris,
n. 113. Of the abundance of sealing wax made at Ahmedabad in 1660 the greatest
part came from Sindi Kera (Sankheda). ' It drops first out of several sorts of trees
not unl jke the thorn and plumb tree. When the wax is raw it is dark -brown, then it
is beatea and melted with red, green, or black, and put on sticks and sent to Europe
to seal letters. They varnish many ships with it as also tables, cabinets, and other
articles.' Ogilby's Atlas, V. 214; Sankheda (1666) sent great quantity of lao to
Baroda. Thevenot, V. 94.

[Bombay Oaietteer,

STATES.

Chapter VI. the unsettled tribes and sold to the Bohora and Vdnia merchants
Trade. ^^ from thirteen to fourteen pounds the rupee, who export what is

left after home consumption. Before exportation, the lac is heated
and purified and mixed with various colouring substances. Of the
whole supply a little is locally worked up into bracelets. It is also
used by turners for lackering wood and by goldsmiths for filling up
hollow ornaments.

Imports. The chief imports, both for the local and the through trade are

Europe and country piece goods, metals wrought and unwrought,
grain, of all sorts, salt, tobacco, sugar, molasses, opium, cattle,
groceries, and sundries. The import trade is generally in the hands
of village dealers, and Vanjaras and Charans. In the mahuda and
grain seasons, and on market days, hat, the wild tribes buy large
quantities of cloth in exchange for mahuda, grain, gum, lac, honey,,
bees'-wax, and other forest produce.^

Detailed trade returns for 1878 give, for the leading Eewa Kantha
states, a total value of £831,969 (Rs. 83,19,690). Of thia
£310,793 CRs. 31,07,930) was the value of the exports ; £166,881
(Es. 16,68,810) of the imports; and £355,484 (Es. 35,54,840) of
the goods in transit.*

To the total amount of exports Eajpipla contributed £188,016,.
Lunavada £18,355, Bariya £32,866, Ghhota Udepur £21,120,
Balasinor £18,355, and Sunth £13,950. To the total amount of
imports Balasijior contributed £45,647, Eajpipla £40,511, Lunavada.
£37,368, Bariya £20,596, Sunth £14,764, and Ghhota Udepur £9185.
To the total transit trade Bariya contributed £238,183, Balasinor
£36,523, Chhota Udepur £33,489, Lunavada £21,300, Sunth £13,320,
and Eajpipla £10,670. Among exports the chief were cotton,
£139,149, timber £53,731, mahuda £27,257, grain £23,442, oil and
oil-seeds £14,224, opium £12,784, and clarified butter £12,527.
Among imports the chief were groceries £35,754, grain £34,437,
cloth £31,361, opium £14,269, salt £10,249, and clarified butter
£10,069. Among articles in transit the chief were groceries worth
£200,040, grain £64,372, cattle £20,638, cloth £15,924, timber £b083,
opium £7968, and oil and oil-seeds £7502.

The following statement gives all available details.

> Of the Bdriya trade in 1826 Mr. Willoughby iaa left the following details :
The chief imports and exports are iron, copper, pewter, lead ; pearls, diamonds and
other precious stones ; woollen and other European cloth ; Gujarit and Milwa cloth j
grain, cattle, and spices of almost every kind, sugar and molasses, opium, tobacco,
Bait, clarified butter, ginger, country medicines, catechu, mahuda flowers, oils of
various kinds, timber, ivory, betelnut, safflower and Indian madder, surangi.

' This return has been supplied by the assistant political agent Mr. Nandshankar
Tnlj^hankar. Though much care has been taken from the extreme difficulty of
getting correct trade returns, these values should not be considered more than rough
estimates.

Chijar&t.l

REWA KlNTHA.

Sewa Kdniha Trade, 1878.

Articlbs,

Rijpipla.

Chhota
Tldepur.

BiUsin or.

Sunth.

Lnndvdda.

B4riya,

Total.

'Cattle

1296

270

255

318

2190

43.37

Cloth

2fi:i4

4498

12,070

4893

6479

1487

31,061

Cotton

191,5

2778

126

5013

OkriBedbutter ...

1150

12i

8658

188

10,019

Grain

12,304

4375

4364

18,394

84,4.37

•

Groceries

32,103

1362

11,867

112

320

36,754

26i

808

g ■! Memls

"■ 98

415

'"78

746

Molasses

2031

386

"3674

463

6667

Oil and Oil-seeds...

727

2S2

210

1223

Opium

40f)2

"6521

413

41i5

14,269

Snlt

8116

2065

802

1212

3055

10,249

Timber

'"478

1617

2108

Tobacco

808

"647

2082

2100

■"688

6325

.Sundries

S23

141

'"276

607

8608

602

6617

'Carnelians

295

Cattle

131

" 82

' " 38

'"479

'"466

'"283

1467

Cloih

176

832

1117

Cotton

137,085

2042

139,149

Clarified butter ...

294

423

3114

8230

'"466

12,527

Grain

491

12,980

6668

3007

250

23,442

Groceries

290

463

8728

4686

Hides

467

1348

940

...

1545

4341

Mdhuda

3866

6544

16,828

27,257

Mecals

'" 23

153

246

Molasses

'"737

803

Oil and Oil-geeda...

2864

"sou

94,2

785

"1622

14,224

Opium

2363

" 36

10,308

12,784

Salt

■" 14

101

Timber

38,091

"2666

'" 65

684

860

11,385

53,781

Tobacco

1718

298

320

2341

LSundries

401

'" 72

318

10,583

357

12,049

'Cattle

3602

11,494

211

295

4966

20,638

Cloth

663

358

4823

1023

668

8499

16,924

Cotton

738

175

942

Clarified butter ...

"325

2478

2887

Grain

6840

"8170

7511

364

42^467

64,372

Groceries

"'208

26115

18,611

178,507

200,040

3£ahutUi

657

1876

296

2828

Metals ;:. ::;

"' 74

149

"l84

408

Oi and Oil-seeds...

4303

'3199

7602

Opium

16ii5

"2000

'" 47

"4258

>>•

7968

Salt

"306

1365

400

2093

Tiuber

410

"1634

2392

"S630

8083

Tobacco

3622

837

640

,,,

4499

^Sundries

"'251

890

'"825

2795

10,493

16,229

Tnfrils ...

239,497

6:!,795

1,00,526

41,995

94,8,53

2,91,644

8.31,969

The following return shews for Bariya the approximate values of
the imports, exports, and goods in transit during the seven years
ending IS 76 :

Sdriya Trade, 1870-1876.

Akticleb.

1670.

1871.

1872.

1878.

1874.

1876.

1878.

/Cattle

...

Cloth

7748

i^m

4167

2093

102

4096-

6093

Gniceries

2769

95 i

718

904

463

1471

1339

Opium

210

386

45;

220

143

103

."alt

458

747

600

451

280

484

656

Tobacco

968

465

319

272

368

446

360

LSundries

2341

2477

2286

1046

3348

1010

1268

rsH

1014

610

516

698

230

10:<4

619

Grain of all sorts..

8870

4746

4.131

6677

21 2<!

2280

6238

MOfhuda

16,761

5.531

8645

4382

4616

10,213

7062

1^ Oil and Oil-seeds...

1!86

3683

1,511

1848

830

2418

6194

» Timber

Sundries

19,111

15,370

17,42rt

16,443

16,271

12,548

27.878

384

1286

8160

1283

1764

1007

1568

prattle

9969

ll.OiO,

10,770

8244

8642

6528

4820

Cloth

20,099

14,005

15,887

20,682

1332

13,241

7413

Grain

71,000

51,499

44.608

1 7,802

7198

6519

16,642

£ ./

Groceries

198,779

194,637

l,57,49l

172,386

105,803

133,729

177,025

Opium

4017

14,431

27,147

20,8,51

2621

17,719

4160

Timber

3000

2726

8219

2390

3930

2875

2815

..Sundries

3448

709

309

375

604

659

4360

Total ...

372,211

329,612

298,367

277,894

165,494

218,323

273,608

Chapter VI.
Trade.
Import!.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter YI.

Trade.

Imports.

Transit Duties.

Alanufactures.

For Lun^Tada and Sunth the following statement gives such
trade figures as are available for the nine years ending 1878 :

Lundvdda and Sunth Trade, 1870-1878.

juna'va'da

Sdktb.

Yeab.

Import.

Export.

Transit.

Import.

Export.

Transit

1870 ...

89,066

60,462

33,960

..•

1871 ...

71,164

68,178

74,602

1872 ...

46,992

37,635

37,37!)

..1

1873 ...

41,405

38,0J8

26,647

6860

26,836

11,658

1874 ...

39,880

36,680

2J,480

14,439

15,120

11,978

1876 ...

61,060

34,698

17,466

18,819

■23,010

14,426

1876 ...

4o,43r

47,888

26,499

11,459

S2;647

14,935

1877 ...

40,486

35,751

26,691

11,413

56,273

16,526

1878 ...

37,168

36,190

21,300

14,764

13,949

12.320

A comparison of the available customs and transit revenue details
gives the following results. In Rajpipla between 1776 and 1785
they varied from £1300 to £4000 (Rs. 13,000 - 40,000), from 1794 '
to 1819 they averaged about £1 000 (Rs. 10,000), in 1821 they fell to
£695 (Rs. 6950), and in 1827 to £770 (Rs. 7700). In 1878 they had
again risen to £5560 (Rs. 55,600). In Bariya the duties amounted
in 1818 to £1400 (Rs. 14,000) ; in 1825 to £1797 (Rs. 17,970); in
1865 to £5133 (Rs. 51,330) ; and in 1878 to £7433 (Rs. 74,330),
From July 1878, Bariya reduced its transit duties on the Godhra-
Dohad road, and, instead of levying rates proportioned to the value
of the merchandise, takes, as an experiment, a moderate toll on the
carts passing through its portion of the high road. In Lunavada
the duties amounted in 1870 to £2637 (Rs. 26,370) ; in 1874 to
£2281 (Rs. 22,810); in 1877 to £2481 (Rs. 24,810); and in 1878 to
£1352 (Rs. 13,520). In Sunth the duties amounted in 1872 to
£853 (Rs. 8530) ; and in 1878 to £785 (Rs. 7850).

The present duties are a great hindrance to trade, and, since
the opening of railways through Gujarat and to Indor, have had the
effect of driving the through trade from the roads to the railway.
At present the states cannot well afford to give up so large an item
of their revenue. But as tillage spreads and the land revenue grows,
it wUl be more easy to free trade from the burden of transit duties.

The Rewa Kantha manufactures are of little importance. In the
Eatanpur sub-division of Rajpipla iron of excellent quality used to
be smelted. But probably from the fall in the price of iron and
the rise in the price of fuel, this industry has for some years
ceased. From the Rajpipla village of Ratanpur or the gem village,
considerable quantities of carnelians are sent to Cambay.^ To those
given in the Cambay Statistical Account, the following local details

> Bom. Gov. Sel. XXm. 318.

Qujar&t]

REWA KANTHA,

of the manufacture of Cambay stones may be added. Camelians
were formerly burnt only in the village of Limodra in the Jagadia
sub-division of Rajpipla, when the business was monopolized by a few
Musalman families. Lately two other establishments have been
opened, one under a Rajput at the village of Sultanpur, the other at
Ranipur under a Kanbi. The miners are Bhils. The season lasts from
October, Ashvin, to May, Vaishdkh. The miners, besides food, tools,
and a little oil to burn in the pit are paid 2s. (Re. 1) for six baskets
full, each on an average holding twenty-five pounds, sers, of stones.
After the mining season is over, the stones are gathered at the
villages of Ratanpu<r, Sultanpur, and Ranipur, and as described in
the Cambay account, are baked with fire. During the rains (June -
October) work is at a standstill, and the last year's pits are broken
in by the rain, and new pits dug at the opening of the next season.
Of the value of the outturn of the carnelian mines nothing certain
is known. According to the Limodra dealers, they are paid from
£2 10s. to £5 a man of forty pounds, and in a year sell from £800 to
£2000 (Rs. 8000 - 20,000) worth of stones. Of the three colours,
red, white, and yellow, red is the most valuable. During the last
century, the carnelian revenue after falling, in 1810, to £150
(Rs. 1500), and in 1825 rising to about £500 (Rs. 5000), had in 1876
gone back to about £300 (Rs. 3000), the amount they yielded one
hundred years ago.^

During February and the three following months the making of
catechu, kdtho, from the bark of the kher, Mimosa catechu, tree
employs manyBariya and Rajpipla Kolis andlSTaikdas. The process
though rude is simple and cheap. Kher branches are cut, stripped of
bark, and chopped into three or four inch pieces. These put into
earthen pots full of water are bpiled, and the water passing off in
steam leaves a thick sticky decoction. A pit is dug five or six feet
deep and narrow enough to be covered by a small bamboo basket.
The thick substance is placed in the basket, and as it strains, the
water sinks into the ground, the valuable part stays in the pit and
the refuse is left in the basket. The extract is then taken out,
placed on leaves in the sun, and when dry is sold at Bariya at from
3s. to 5s. (Rs. 1| - 2^) a man. From Bariya it is sent to Malwa and
Gujarat.

Soap like that made at Kapadvanj is manufactured in the towns
of Lunavada and Balasinor. To make it, salt earth, us, is mixed
with lime and water, and poured into the top of a row of cement
cisterns built one above the other. Each cistern has a hole in the
bottom and the water, charged with the soda and lime, soaks
through and is collected at the foot. Mahuda oil, doliu, is thrown
into an iron cauldron and heated. Into this the soda and lime
water is poured, and after standing some time is allowed to flow out.
This process is repeated daily for seven days when the oil becomes

Chapter VI.
Trade.

Manufactures.

1 The details are : from 1776 to 1785, Ks. 3000 ; from 1784 to 1803, Rs. 2000 ; from
1804 to 1810, Rs. 1800 ; from 1810 to 1819, Rs. 1500. In 1821-22, Rs. 3500, in 1825-26,
Rs. 5204, in 1826-27, Rs. 5001, in 1827-28, Rs. 4001. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 269.

B 561—8

Manufactures.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
58 STATES.

Chapter VI. like thick butter. This paste is then placed in wooden troughs
m^Ilg mixed with hot soda and lime water, softened by a wooden -ladle

and laid on a cement floor to dry. Wien it has hardened, it is
rolled into balls, stamped with a seal and sold for about four pence
the pound (3 pice \ ser). This soap, sold in all Bohoras' shops, is
much used for washing clothes. In 1876, soap worth about £5000
(Rs. 50,000) was exported half from Lunavada and half from
Balasinor.

Coarse doti cloth and tape for cots are still rather important
manufactures, and the Bhils make good bamboo baskets and matting.
Other Rewa Kantha industries have of late years declined. Since
its iron' furnaces stopped, the swords for which Nandod was once
famous are no longer made. Machine-woven cloth has to a large
extent taken the place of the old hand- woven varieties, and, unable
to hold their own against European competition, the Nandod weavers
have ceased to work their fine-cloth looms.

Givjar&t.]

CHAPTER VII.

H ISTORY-

Of the early Aryan conquest and settlement of the Rewa Kantha
a few traces remain in its old name of Hidimba Vcm or the forest of
Hidimba, a giantess, who according to the story married Bhim of
Mahabharat fame (1400 b.c.?). Of this wedding the memory still
survives in the north of Lunavada, where of several old ruined
buildings, one is still known, as the marriage hall, chori, and a large
stone lying near it as the mortar where the opium was prepared for
the marriage feast. In another part of the district one of the hills
of Balasinor is sacred to Bhim and his giant wife.

Soon after the beginning of the Christian era Rajpipla must
already have been a place of some consequence as Ptolemy (150) knew
of its Sardonyx hill, 'where the sardonyx stone is found. '^ About two
hundred years later, Godhrahaka or the Cow's Lake, the modem
G-odhra in the Panch Mahals, seems from the evidence of a metal-
plate inscription, to have been the head-quarters of a chief dependent
on the Valabhi sovereigns.^ With the rise of the Anhilvada kings
(746), a new power was introduced into eastern Gujarat, and
Champaner became, and till the fall of Anhilvada (1304), continued
the most important place in this part of the province.

Under the first Anhilvada dynasty (746 - 942), except Champaner,
almost all the Rewa Kantha lands were under the government of
Bdrriyas, that is Koli and Bhil chiefs. In the eleventh, twelfth, and
thirteenth centuries, driven south and east by the pressure of
Musalman invasions, chiefs of Rajput or part Rajput blood took the
place of the old Koli and Bhil leaders. The first established of
these Rajput houses was that of the Raja of Rajpipla. As early as the
middle of the eleventh century (1064) Limodra, the head-quarters
of the agate trade, was the seat of a Rajput chief .^ This Raja, if
descended from Chokharana the son of the Raja of Ujain who first
established himself in the village of Pipla, must have belonged to

' Bertiua' Ptolemy, 199, 203. Ptolemy places the Sardonyx hill next to the
Vindhyan range. But its position in his map and the remark in the Periplus of
the Erythrasan Sea (66 - 160) that the Broach onyx stones came from Paithan in
Ahmediiagar (McCrindle's Periplus, 127) would seem to place the chief camelian mines
in the Deccan or Central Provinces rather than in Bijpipla.

2 Ind. Ant. LXIII. 16.

^ The chief's name was PrithipAl. The inscription is on the footstool of the image
of Rikhavdev in the village of Limodra.

Chapter VII.
History-
Legends,

Karly Hindus
to 1484.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

CSiapter VII.
History.

Early Hindus
to 1484.

Mnsalmdn

Ascendancy,

1484-1700.

Local Bevival,
1700-1730.

the Parmar tribe of Rajputs.^ Soon after this a part of the Lunavada
territory would seem to have been under a Rajput chiefj with his
head-quarters at Godhra or some place near^ whose family was, about
the middle of the fifteenth century, partially overcome by the
ancestors of the present Lunavada chief.^ In the middle of the
fourteenth century a body of Khichi Chohans, driven south by the
Mnsalmans, settled at Champaner, which since the overthrow of
Anhilvada (1304) would seem to have fallen into obscurity.^ Under
its Chohan rulers, until its overthrow by Mahmud Begada (1484),
Champaner was one of the chief seats of power in eastern Gujarat.

During this time the Musalman dynasty of Ahmedabad had been
established and had brought great part of the Rewa Kantha under
its sway. By the fall of Champaner and the establishment there
for about fifty years of the head-quarters of Musalman power, almost
the whole of the Rewa Kantha was brought under submission and
much of it well tilled and enriched. After the fall of Champaner
the descendants of Jayasing, the last Raval, founded the states of
Chhota Udepur and Bariya. In the seventeenth century though
trade and prosperity were not restored to the northern parts of the
districts, an important trade route passed through the south into
Kh^ndesh and Sankheda, and some other places were centres of
considerable commerce.

In the eighteenth century, though Musalman ascendancy in the
Rewa Kantha was increased by the conquest by a 'member of the
famous Babi family of the territory of Balasinor in the north-west,
the power of the Gujarat Viceroys began to decline, and the Imperial
claims, that had formerly included lands as remote as the Virpur
sub"division of Lunavada, ceased to be regularly enforced. The local
chiefs no longer paid tribute, and began to levy demands from villages

' A person named Chokhdr^a the son of Saidivat Rija of Ujain, a Kajput of
the ParmAr tribe, quarrelled with his father and retiring to the western hills fixed
his residence at the village of Pipla, on the top of a high hiU, now calleAjuna or old
Rijpipla to distinguish it from the new village of the same name. Bom. Gov. Sel.
XXin, 263. Chokhtotoa's daughter, as is said, married Samarsi, the son of
Mokhdiji the chief of Piram and Gogha, Chokhdrdna must have flourished in the
middle of the 14th century.

^ Traces of this older LunivAda family are found in an inscription dated 1129 in
a Shaiv temple in the village of Dehjar and in another dated 1328 in the temple of
Keddreshvar MahAdev in KAkachia on the Mahi. These chiefs are supposed to he
still represented by the ThAkors of Mehlol in Godhra. According to an account
supplied to Mr. H. A. Acworth, C. S., by the family bard of the Mehlol chief, the
founder of the house a Solanki Kajput, Gadsingji by name, some time in the eighth
century established himself at Godhra. The head of the family remained at Godhra,
his territory being separated from Chimptoer by the small river that runs through
Viialpur in KAlol. Bi time the family spread, one branch gaining an estate in the
PAndu MehvAs and another at Sonepur in Thisia. Defeated by Mahmud Begada
(1484) they retired from Godhra and about 1500 established themselves at Mehlol.
They consider that they belong to the Rewa Kdntha not to the Panch MahAls. In
Someshvar's Kirti Kaumudi it is mentioned that in the 13th century the chiefs of
Godhra owned allegiance to the Vdghela chiefs of Dholka. One of them named
Dhundhal insulted his superior, who sent an army against Godhra, plundered the
town and making Dhundhal prisoner, carried him to Dholka where he committed
suicide. BhagvAnlAl's History of GujarAt, 110, 111.

3 According to bardic accounts Fdlhansing, the first Chohin of Chimpdner, ruled
in the middle of the 13th century.

Oujar&t]

RBWA KANTHA.

Chapter VII.

History.

MarAtha Supremacy
1730-1S20.

from whicli they had long been shut out. This revival of local power
did not last long. By 1 730 the Marath& had appeared in force, and
conquering most of the plain lands, levied tribute from all but the
poorest and remotest chiefs. At the same time the authority of the
Marathas was never firmly established, and the chiefs paid their
tribute only under the pressure of military force.

During these outside changes, the younger branches of the
chiefs' families had from time to time been forced to leave their
homes and win for themselves new estates. These cadets of the
larger houses, a few daring adventurers, and the descendants of the
original chiefs, form the present Thakors or landlords of the
Sankheda and Pandu Mehvas. During the early years of the present
century under the weak misrule of Baroda these small chieftains,
except under military pressure, refused to pay their tribute. They
plundered the country round and as the Gaikwar failed to keep
order, the charge of the district was undertaken by the British.

In 1803 Ajabsing, Raja of Rajpipla, died leaving two sons
Ramsing and Narsing. These two brothers contended for the
chiefshiptill in 1810, Ramsing died leaving a putative son Pratapsing.
As Ramsing was in possession Pratapsing was declared Raja. Soon
after hostilities broke out between him and his uncle Narsing, and in
1813 Narsing formally claimed the chief ship on the ground that
Pratapsing was not Ramsing's son. Narsing's claim was not admitted
and the struggle continued till, in 1816, under the plea of settling
the points in dispute, the Baroda Government took over the whole
management of the country.

Affairs remained in this state till, in 1 820, Mr. Willoughby the British Supervision,
Assistant Resident at Baroda was sent to Rajpipla to inquire into 1820-1879.

the opposing claims. After inquiry he decided that Pratapsing
was not Ramsing's son. In the same year an agreement was
concluded with His Highness the Gaikwar, under the terms of which
the control of all the Baroda tributaries vested in the British
Government.^ At the close of 1821 Mr. Willoughby was placed
in charge of Rajpipla and spent nearly three years in putting its
affairs in order. In 1823 he also settled the position and tribute of
the chiefs of the Sankheda Mehvas to the north of the Narbada.
These arrangements were completed in 1825, and, in the same year,
the Baroda authorities placed the territories of the petty chiefs of
the Pandu Mehvas on the banks of the Mahi under British control.
At the same time the political control of Sindia's Panch Mahals was
made over to the British, and the Bariya state was transferred
from the Bhopavar Political Agent. For the charge of these new
territories, a special officer was wanted, and on the 6th February 1 826,
Mr. Willoughby was appointed Political Agent of Rewa Kantha,
including Rajpipla, Sindia's Panch Mahals, the Mehvdsi states on the
Mahi, the Mehvasi states on the Narbada, Bariya, and Chhota
Udepur. Soon after, the states of Lunavada and Sunth that, since

' The Rewa KAntha states, though not specially mentioned, were virtually
included. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 506.

[Bombay Qazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter VII,
History-
British Supervision,
1820- 1879.

Ndihda
1838.

1819, had been under British control were transferred from the
Mahi Kantha to the Eewa Kantha Agency. In 1829 the appoint-
ment of Political Agent was abolished, and for several years the
Rewa Kantha chiefs, though nominally under the assistant to the
Political Commissioner, were left very much to themselves. This,
in 1836, ended in disorder, and in 1839 special control over the
Naikda country was vested in the assistant commissioner .^ In 1842
(12th January) under the order of the Court of Directors the office of
Political Agent in Rewa Kantha was re-established, the criminal
powers of the chiefs were graded, and, except of Rajpipla who was
granted the power of life and death, the supplementary jurisdiction
of the chiefs was vested in the court of the Political Agent.^
No further change took place till, in 1853, the state of Balasinorwas
transferred from the Kaira Collector to the Rewa Kantha Political
Agent ; and in the same year Sindia, for a period of ten years, handed
over the administration of the Godhra Panch Mahals to the Rewa
Kantha Political Agent. Again, in 1862, the Panch Mahals were
exchanged by Sindia for districts nearer Gwalior, and became British
territory. Two years later they were removed from the control of
the Agent, and formed into a separate charge. Finally in 1876 the
Panch Mahals were raised to the rank of a district, the officer in
charge of it having control of the Rewa Kantha states.^

Since 1825 the peace of the Rewa Kantha has thrice been broken j
in 1838 by a Naikda rising ; in 1857 by the presence of a rebel force
from Upper India; and in 1868 by another Naikda disturbance. In
1838 the Naikdas of Bariya, Chhota Udepur, Jambughoda, and
Godhra were guilty of such excesses that the British Government
was forced to take measures to bring them to order. Captain Outram,
Political Agent in the Mahi Kantha, drew up the plan of a
campaign, and a force was organized and, in February 1838 under
command of Major Forbes, was despatched to the disturbed parts.
Military posts were at the same time stationed at several places on
the frontier, the fastnesses in which the Naikda leaders had taken
refuge were surrounded, and inducements were held out to them to
surrender. Before the close of the year, with the help of the chiefs
of Bariya and Chhota Udepur and the rulers of Baroda and Gwalior,
the leading Naikdas were either caught or had submitted. Several
of them were sentenced to terms of imprisonment, and on giving
security for good behaviour the rest were released. These
disturbances were caused by two chief gangs of outlaws. Keval of
Bara in the district of Bariya, his brother Jalam Rupa Naik, and his
manager Onkarsing, the leaders of one of the gangs, helped by
Makranis and some malcontents from Udepur and Jambughoda,
carried ofE cattle and other property of the Raja of Udepur. The
other gang under Viram Naik, Mahadev Naik his brother, and Amra
Naik, laid waste and almost depopulated the lands of Rajgad. To
prevent future disorder the lawless sub-division of Sagtala was

1 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 200-217.

2 Aitchison's Treaties, IV. 251.

3 This change has not yet (1879) taken effect.

Q^jard,t.]

REWA KANTHA.

detached from Bariya and placed under the direct supervision of the
Political Agent. A post was fixed there, order was established, and
the deserted villages resettled.

On the 26th November 1858 Lieutenant Vibart, commanding at
Dohad in the Panch Mahals, heard from the Indor Bhil Agent that
a body of rebels had entered his districts, and that Tatia Topi had
on the 24th been at Than on the Bombay road between Khorampur
and Tulvada. Three days later (November 29) the Indor Bhil
Agent sent a further message that Tatia Topi's force, about 3000
strong, had on the 26th crossed the Narbada by a ford below
Chikalda, and moved to Kuksi, a meeting place of roads from
Gujarat, Malwa, and Nimar, and that on the next day (27th) a column
under Brigadier Park had, at Moipur, crossed the Narbada in
pursuit of the rebels. Shortly after, the manager at Amjhara
reported that the rebels were at Kuksi on the 28th and that they
intended to move on Dohad through AH Rajpur. At the same time
the Political Agent heard that on the 25th Tatia Topi was attacked
and defeated by a detachment from Malwa, that his troops fled
towards Vadvadi ford on the Narbada thirty miles off, and were
pursued on the 26th. On the 29th the rebel force entered the
Udepur territory. Hearing of their approach the chief, then in the
district settling the land revenue, returned to Udepur and shut the
gates of its small fort. On the following day (30th November) the
rebels arrived and plundered the town. But next morning at day-
break Brigadier Park surprised and dispersed them. Small parties
fled south and south-west and at Jhabugam several of them were
made prisoners by a detachment from Baroda. A large body with
Tatia Topi and the person called the Rao Saheb arrived at Bariya
on the morning of the 2nd December much worn out, and other
small parties wandered about in the Bariya forests. The main body,
with all their elephants but one, had on the first alarm doubled
back and made their way through the heavy forest east to Bhabra.
Prom Bhabra they made their way to Bariya, the whole joining on
the 5th at the Bariya village of Piplod. Meanwhile the Bariya
party joining the other fugitives had moved south-west threatening
the Halol and Baroda road and returned to Piplod. On the 6th,
leaving a covering party at Piplod, the whole force began to retreat
in the direction of Jhalod. On the next day Captain Muter's
detachment advanced from Godhra to Piplod and on the evening of
the 8th reached Dohad, the rebels retreating before them but not
leaving till they had plundered the towns of Limdi and Jhalod.
Brigadier Park's column arrived at Bariya on the 11th, marched to
Lunavada on the 13th, and thence on the 14th went to Kadana,
where Captain Thompson's detachment had arrived from Godhra.

On the 17th news came that from ten to twenty thousand rebels
were to be at Kuksi on the 18th; and a telegram from Sir
Hugh Rose told that a body of 700 or 800 rebel cavalry, popularly
known as the army "of the Peshwa, had crossed the Narbada. As it
was rumoured that this force would enter Gujarat by the route
taken by Tatia Topi, Captain Collier with two companies of
Native Infantry was posted at Chhota Udepur. Jhalod was occupied

Chapter VII.

History.

British Supervision,
1820-1879.

Tlie Mutiniet,
1857.

[Bombay Q-azetteer,

STATES.

Chapter VII.
History.

British Supervision,

1820-1879.

The Mutinies,

1857.

Ndihda Rising,
1868.

by about eigbty men of the 33rd Eegimentj and Bariya by the rest
of the 33rd and two guns. Colonel CoUings stopped at Dama
Vav in Bariya so as to command the rebel flank^ should they
advance from Udepur towards Baroda. Lunavada was protected by
a British force, and Balasinor strengthened by 100 men of the Kaira
police. The freedom of the district from any further inroad of
hostile troops was probably due to the careful distribution of these
forces.

During the mutinies, besides from Tatia Topi's raid, Rewa
Kantha suffered from local disturbances. Unsettled, perhaps incited
by the mutineers, the Bhils and Kolis raised their hands against
their well-to-do neighbours, and foreign mercenaries and outlaws
defied their chiefs or tri^d to persuade them to rise against the
paramount power. In Lunavada in June 1857, as his claims to the
chiefship were not admitted, S'urajmal went into outlawry, attacked
the town of Lun&,vada in July (1857), and failing in his attempt
fled to Salumbar in Meywar. He remained in outlawry for some
months. But at length, satisfied by the liberal terms offered by the
Eaja, he returned to his obedience without causing any disturbance,
In 1857 Jamadar Mustafa Khan, the head of the Sunth foreign
mercenaries, advanced a claim of £467 8s. (Rs. 4674) for arrears of
pay. This demand was accompanied with such threats that the
chief applied to the Political Agent for protection. A party of the
Gujarat Irregular Horse under the command of a European officer
was, in August 1857, deputed to arrest the Jamadar. The Jamadar
resisting the attempt to arrest him was fired at and killed. His
followers fled and order was restored.

About the middle of August 1857, one Syed Morad Ali attempted
to raise a disturbance in Eajpipla and about the same time the
chief oTvasdva of Sagbara also gave trouble. Later, in 1858, under
the leadership of Keval Dama and Rupa Gobar, the Naikdas rose
in open rebellion and were not put down till a large body of troops
had acted against them for eight months. This disturbance waschiefly
in the Panch Mahals to which the two leaders belonged. Within
Rewa Kantha limits there was some fighting in Udepur and Bariya,
but no action of consequence except on the 18th January 1859 a
night attack on Lieutenant Richardson's camp. On the 10th March
Keval Dama the leading outlaw surrendered to Major Wallace, and
on the 23rd May, Rupa Gobar to Captain Hayward. Early in 1859,
there were gatherings and threatening movements among the
Sankheda Mehvas Bhils. In the month of March the Political
Agent moved into the district, convicted nine of the ringleaders,
and restored order.

On the 2nd February 1868, Rupsing Naik of Dandiapur in the
Panch Mahals district of Jambughoda, one of the pardoned 1857
rebels, with about 500 men attacked the post of Rajgad in the
state of Bariya. He failed in his chief object, the murder of the
Bariya Superintendent, who had very shortly before left Rajgad. In
other respects the attack was successful. Three of the defenders were
killed and three wounded, and about £80 (Rs. 800) in money, the
arms and ammunition of the post, two horses, and. much private

Gujarat]

REWA KANTHA.

property were carried away. After the attack on Eajgad, Eupsing
retired into the Panch Mahals, and being joined by Naikdas and
several Makranis, sacked Jambughoda and threatened Halol. Among
Rupsing's companions was Joria Bhagat, who claimed supernatural
power and was styled God, Parmeshvar. Such panic did he inspire
among the ignorant people of the district that he gained his first
fights without suffering any loss. Flushed with success, on the 6th
February he attacked the post of Jetpur in Ohhota Udepur. But
being met by the chief who with some followers was hunting close by,
three of his men were killed. Though this loss to some extent shook
the confidence of the Naikdas, their leader sent so defiant a message
to the Udepur chief that, giving up the posts of Kadval and Jetpur,
he centred his troops for the defence of Chhota Udepur. Before
disorder spread further, the Bhagat's head-quarters were attacked
by a British force, one of the leading men was slain and two wounded,
and open resistance was crushed. Eupsing, the Bhagat, and
Rupsing's son Galalia, followed up with untiring vigour, were caught,
tried, and hanged.^ This rising was almost entirely confined to
PanchMahalsNaikdas. Only a few of Eupsing's followers, and these
men of no position, belonged to the Eewa Kantha states.

With these exceptions the public peace has, during the last fifty
years, remained unbroken. For the levy of the revenue and tribute
the display of military force is no longer needed ; the favourite
crimes of gang robbery and cattle-stealing have to a great extent
been suppressed; and disputed boundaries, the fruitful cause
of ill-feeling and bloodshed, have been fixed. The last questions
to be settled belonged to one class, the relations of the Gaikwar to
the smaller chiefs. Of these one of the most important was the
settlement of the rival claims of the Chhota Udepur chief and the
Baroda Government to the sub-divisions of Vasna and Jhabugam.
These sub-divisions, Vasna with thirty-four and Jhabugam with
eight villages, under the double management of Ohhota Udepur and
Baroda agents, fell into such disorder that, in the interests of the
public peace, they were in 1865 taken in charge by the Political
Agent. In the management of the revenues no change was made.
Rents were realized as they had been realized before, and the share
of each claimant was handed over to him. At the same time steps
were taken to record the rights of each party in the different
villages, and at last in 1873, it was settled that the Jhabugam
sub-division should be handed over to Chhota Udepur, and Vasna
and a few villages to Baroda. Another difficult point, lately settled,
is the control of the sacred town of Chanod, at the meeting of
the Or and Narbada. The question of ownership and of civil
and criminal jurisdiction was disputed between the Mandva chief
and the Gaikwar, the disputes giving rise to much ill-feeling, ending
sometimes in a breach of the peace. It has been decided that the
town belongs to the Mandva chief, that civil and criminal
jurisdiction rests with the Gaikwar, and that the Mandva chief can

Chapter VII.
History.

British Supervision,
1820-1879.

lidihda Rising,
1868.

Changes,
1820-1874.

' Details are given in the Panch Mahils Statistical Account, 255-258.
B 561—9

IBombay Gazetteer,
QQ * STATES.

Chapter VII. exercise police powers only as Ms subordinate. Again, there is a

History. wider phase of the same question in the disputes between the

-o .. . . o • ■ Gaikwar Grovemment and the petty Rewa Kantha Mehvas chiefs.
British Supervision, rm. i • j! i • j.i ^ ^ -^ ■ , t j j

1820-1879, JLhe chiefs claim, as the former proprietors, lands and. revenues m

Changes, Gaikwar villages, and these claims the Baroda Government has for

1820-1879. years struggled, either altogether or in great part, to disallow.

The interest of the earlier Rajput chiefs, in villages conquered

by the Marathas, varies considerably. In many they still have the

chauth vdnta, that is the ownership and control of one-fourth part

of the village ; in others they keep the share of the land, but have

lost control ; and in others both control and land have been lost,

but the right to levy a cess remains. By degrees the shares of

the original chiefs were divided among heirs and dependents who

complicated matters by disposing of them by sale or mortgage.

Besides these claimants directly or indirectly representing the

original chiefs and landlords, there are the descendants of successful

bandits and freebooters, who, with no hereditary right, had in

unsettled times succeeded in extorting payments from the villagers.

Thus it happened that in 1825 when the Eewa Kantha Agency was

established, there was scarcely a village in the neighbouring

Gaikwar territory, in which Rewa Kantha subjects did not possess

a claim of some description.^ In 1825 under Mr. Willoughby's

settlement, the Mehvasis' claims were guaranteed to them. For

nearly forty years, chiefs and girdsids tilled their lands, gathered

their rents and money dues, and parted freely by mortgage, sale, or

gift with their interest in lands within Gaikwar limits. In 1862

the late Gaikwar ordered the levy from alienated lands of a

one-eighth share of their rental, and attempted to enforce this levy

on the lands and money claims enjoyed by Rewa Kantha girdsids

within Gaikwar limits. Had not the power of the Political Agent

been exercised to prevent it, this demand would have provoked a

breach of the peace. The Rewa Kantha chiefs were persuaded to

remain quiet and leave their claims in the Political Agent's hands.

The Baroda Government declined to admit that the guarantee given

in Mr. Willoughby's original settlement was enough to establish the

girdsids' claims ; and points connected with this question were for

years in dispute between the Rewa Kantha Political Agent and the

Baroda state. As matters made no progress towards settlement it

was, in 1877, arranged that the gvrdsia claims should be inquired

into and settled by a special British officer .^ The work of inquiry

is still going on.

' Rewa Kd,ntha Administration Report, 1870.

^ No fewer than 2228 original suits and 26 appeals have been brought before this
officer.

GujarAt]'

CHAPTER VIII.

LAND ADMINISTRATION.

Except such portions as they have given away the Eewa Kantha
lands belong to the chiefs. The heads of the larger states take no
share in the actual work of cultivation; some small chieftains,
whose income is barely enough to meet their wants, have a home farm
tilled by their servants ; and proprietors, talukddrs, whose estates
are too small to let out to tenants, have no resource but to till their
own land. Except that they have to pay no part of their produce
to superior holders men of this last class do not differ from ordinary
cultivators.

To collect the land revenue the larger states are distributed over
sub-divisions, taluhds or pargands,. each with a commandant, ihdnddr,
who, besides police and magisterial duties,^ has, as collector of the
revenue, to keep the accounts of his charge, and, except where
middlemen are employed, to receive their rents from the villagers.
Under the thdnddr to help in revenue work, one or more accountants,
taldtis, are generally engaged. In the smaller states and in the
petty mehvds estates, the proprietors helped by the village Vania
or a clerk themselves perform these duties. In the small estates
under direct British management the revenue is collected by officers
called attachers, japtiddrs, with, if the estate is large, the help of
one or two accountants, taldtis.

Rewa Kantha villages belong to two main classes,, state villages
held and managed by the chiefs, and private villages alienated or
granted under some special agreement. Of private villages there
are five varieties ; granted, indm ; held under an agreement,
patdvat ; given as a subsistence,._;waX; ; temple, d'evastJidn ; charitable,
dharmdda ; and held at a fixed rentyUdTiad. Granted, indm, villages,
given for some public service to the chiefs, are, as a rule,, held
either rent-free or on payment of a quit-rent, and are without any
condition of service. Agreement, patdvat, villages are held on
condition of rendering military and other service. When the
Rajputs and other strangers overran the country their leaders,
keeping the lion's share for themselves, distributed part of the land
among their followers on promise of help in times of war. Village
holders of this class, besides helping their chiefs in times of war,
served with a certain number of horsemen as guards of honour,
whenever the chiefs went out of their territories on pilgrimages or

Chapte^VIII.

Land
Administration-
Landholders.

Management.

Villages.

' In the large states under the direct management of the British Government
thdnddrs have no police or magisterial powers.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter_VIII-

Land
Administration-
Villages.

otlier peaceful errands. They were also bound to attend the chiefs
on festive or ceremonial occasions^ and to add to the grandeur of
the Eajas' procession on the Dasera and other holidays. So much
honour attached to a large following of these dependent gentry, that
in this form of display many of the chiefs sacrificed a great part of
their incomes. Villages held under this tenure pay a fixed revenue
to the chief who has also the right to levy cesses from the lessees'
tenants. These cesses are in most cases fixed, either paid by the
lessees themselves or by the villagers direct. They are apportioned
either to individual cultivators, or to communities of particular castes.
In the latter case the amount is not enhanced even though the
community receives fresh members from other villages. A chief may
resume an agreement, pata, on the ground of the non-performance
of service or other conditions, or on account of failure of heirs.
Subsistence, ^wai;, villages, granted free of service, are held by
members of the chiefs' families, or their relations. Though subject
to resumption on the failure of heirs, the holder may generally on
paying a fee, nazardna, adopt a successor. The land revenue,
vaje, of subsistence villages belongs to the holder. But the chief
has the right to levy cesses, vera, from the villagers. Temple,
devasthdn, villages cannot be taken back at the wish of the chief.
At the same time all are not free from the levy of certain trifling
cesses. Charitable, dharmdda, villages were originally granted to
members of the sacred classes, Brahmans, Bhats, Charans, and
others in reward either for some religious or ceremonial act, or
with the view of securing their blessing, or of gaining for the giver
a name for liberality. Some of these villages, alienated by the
original holders, are either held by the alienees or have been
resumed by the chief. Fixed rent, udhad, villages are mostly owned
by mehvdsis, the descendants of the Koli and Bhil chiefs, who held
the country before the Eajput conquest. Holding under the
condition of police and military service, these men own their villages,
paying a sum which is not liable to increase.

The following statement shows that in the eight leading Eewa
Kantha states, of a total of 2544^ villages, 1832 or 71-95 per cent
are state, darbdr ; 88 are grant, indm ; 241 are agreement, pafarai ;
146 are subsistence, jivah ; 22 are temple, devasthdn ; 103J are
charitable, dharmdda ; aiid 112 are fixed rent, udhad.
Eewa Kdntha Villages,''- 1S77.

State.

State,
darhar.

Grant,
indm.

Agree-
ment,
patdvat.

Subsist-
ence,

jimak.

Temple,

devas-
thdn.

Chari-
table,
dhar-
mdda.

Fixed
rent,
udhad.

Total.

Eijpipla

Chhota Udepiir...

BAriya

Sanjell

Svmth

Kadfaa

Luudvada
B!lld;Siiior

Total ...

494
464
329
6
213

80
194

20
2

22
3
28
13

"28
11

38
27
11

28
23

S
3
3

48i
8
2

16
2
9

"67
24

"29

673J
60i>
413
12
291
124
348
118

1832

241

146

103J

112

26444

> Owing to the unsettled habits of a large class of the cultivators in every state, the number ol
villages changes from year to year. The proportion of state, dariir, villages is highest in Chhota
Udepur and lowest in Balasinor.

Gajar&tv

REWA KANTHA,

Land
Administration ■

Staff.

The state, darldr, villages, held and managed by the chief, have Chapter YIII

generally a headman, an accountant, talati, in charge of a group of

villages, a messenger, hcwdlddr, and some families of watchmen,

rahhds or pagis. There is only one patel to a village, who is both

the revenue, mulM, and police patel. A separate police patel is an

exception. Assistant headmen, matdddrs, literally signers, are almost

unknown. Carpenters, blacksmiths, and other village craftsmen,

found only in a few large Kanbi villages, are. generally paid in grain by

the villagers. A few of them enjoy rent-free lands. Except when a

village has been farmed to them for a certain number of years, headmen

do not collect the rent. In state villages the headmen generally

accompany the other cultivators when they pay rent to the thdnddrs.

Kanbi villages are seldom farmed and Kanbi or Rajput headmen rarely

act as middlemen. In almost all villages, both state and private,

the lands belong to two main classes, the alienated or part alienated

and those held by the state or village proprietor. Of alienated

lands there are three main divisions : share, vdnta ; subsistence,

pasdita ; and reward, ranvatia or hddia. Besides the petty

proprietors, tdluJcddrs, of the Sankheda and Pandu Mehvas who hold

shares, vdntds, in Baroda and a few British villages, other Eajputs

enjoy share lands from their chiefs nominally for service, but in

practice free from any duty. In Lunavada and Sunth, if unsupported

by a deed, sanad, these lands have been made subject to the

payment of quit-rent. Lands of this class often include plots taken

either by purchase or other means from the original alienees.

Subsistence, pasdita, grants, in north Rewa Kantha known as lot,

haram/ni, lands,^ are either held by village servants or craftsmen, the

vasvdya lok or settlers. Some of them are religious or charitable,

enjoyed by Hindu or Musalman beggars and strolling players, or

are set apart to meet the expense of drawing water for the

village cattle or for travellers. Hereditary service holdings, vatanfis,

are unknown in the Rewa Kantha. There are no hereditary village

accountants, hulkarnis ; and the hereditary village headmen, patels,

instead of a vatan, have either a pasdita grant or are allowed to

hold a certain area of land free of assessment. In Lunavada and

Sunth, where a quit-rent is imposed on all alienated lands not held

under a deed, sanad, pasdita lands enjoyed by watchmen and other

village servants such as barbers, potters, and sweepers doing state

service are excepted, while village servants, blacksmiths, carpenters,

and tanners, who are useful only to the village community pay a

quarter of the normal rent. Pasdita lands held by Brahmans and

others without deeds pay a quit-rent of one-eighth of the normal

rent. Patels enjoy their pasdita lands, if supported by deeds free of

all state demands or else receive a cash payment in proportion to

the size and revenue of the village. Though with no power to do

so, the holders of service, pasdita, land have in many cases sold or

mortgaged their holdings, and in many villages the money-lender

holds the land, and the services are no longer performed. To put a

stop to this abuse it has lately been decided to make all pasdita

' Karamni lands are held subject to no condition, and cannot, as a rule, be resumed
by the chief.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter VIII. lands inalienable and to refuse to recognize any transfer by sale or

liaM mortgage. Hddia is land granted by tbe state or the villagers in

Administration, reward for tbe sacrifice of life on bebalf of village or public interests.

Assessment.

In state lands tbe form of assessment varies from the roughest
billhook or plough cess to the elaborate system in force in British
territory. The form of assessment levied from the rudest and
most thriftless Bhils and Kolis who till no land, is known in Rajpiplaj
where they live chiefly by forest work, as the axe, kohddi, or the
billhook, ddtardi, cess. In Bariya the corresponding tax is k^own
as the squatters', hethaUa, or non-workers', or the water, pdni, cess,
that is on those who do nothing but drink the water of the village.
The amount of this tax. varies from Js. to 4s. {ans. 8 -B.s. 2).
Somewhat above the foresters and squatters are Bhils and Kolis, too
poor to buy or keep bullocks, but who close to their huts dig a plot
of ground, vdda or kdchha, with a spade or hoe and grow Indian
com in it. These m.en pay a hoe, vdda or hoddU, cess varying
according to the size of the plot and the condition of the digger
from Is. to 4s. (ans. 8 - Rs. 2). Prom those a degree better off
who are able to keep bullocks, a plough tax is levied, the amount
on each plough varying according to the state and caste of the
cultivator, the number of working men in his family, and the number
of bullocks at his disposal. One pair of bullocks is estimated to till
from 2^ to 7J acres (5- 15 bighds). In many places there is much
arable waste and to tempt settlers, for the first year only a small
charge is made rising gradually till, after three or four years, the
full amount is realized. The plough rates vary greatly in different
places. They are highest in some of the Sankheda Mehvas estates
ranging in Kamsoli from £2 10s. to £5 (Rs. 25 - 50) a plough ; in
Palasni from £1 5s. 6d. to £2 5s. 6d. (Rs. 12|-22f); and in
Chudesar from £1 12s. to £2 8s. (Rs. 16-24). In the larger states
the rates vary greatly; in Chhota Udepur from 10s. to £3 10s.
(Rs. 5 - 35) j in Rajpipla from 10s. to £1 18s. (Rs. 5 - 19) ; in Bariya
from 4s. to £2 2s. (Rs. 2 - 21) ; and in Sunth from 4s. to 18s.
(Rs. 2 - 9).

The next form of assessment is the crop-share system, bhdgbatdi.
When the crops are ready to cut, the state managers, hdmddrs,
examine each field, and with the help of experts make and record an
estimate, kaltar, of the crop. On this estimated outturn the money
value of the crop is calculated at the ruling price of grain, and the
state share is taken in cash. In some cases the estimate is made
after the crop is reaped and harvested. The state share varies
according to the season, the price of grain, and the honesty of the
assessors. It generally amounts to one-third of the rainy season,
Jcharif, and one-fourth of the cold season^ rabi, crop. This system
prevails in parts of Balasinor, Sunth, and the petty estate of
Chudesar, and in the alluvial, bhdtha, lands of Mandva in the
Sankheda Mehvas, Both under the spade or plough tax and under
the crop share, bhdgbatdi, systems, the chiefs for their own granary,
Jcothdr, take from some of their tenants, grain instead of cash. In
such cases the value of the grain is always fixed at something below
current market rates.

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

Among some of tlie more settled and intelligent communities a
rougli form of the separate holding, Ichdtdhandi, system has been
introduced, and among others cash acre-rates, bighoti, are levied.
In such cases the holdings are roughly measured into highds or
kumbhds, the bigha generally representing about an acre or less,
and the humbha varying in different states from one to five bighds.
After measurement, the assessment is fixed at a certain cash rate on
the bigha. This rate ranges in Rajpipla from 4s. to 30s. (Rs. 2-15)
a bigha, or, the Rajpipla humbha being equal to about 2| bighds,
from 10s. to £3 16s. (Rs. 5 - 37^) a humbha. In the district of
Bariya this assessment is levied in a very few villages at from 4s.
to 4s. &d. (Rs. 2 - 2^) a bigha, and the rate on sugarcane is £1 2s.
(Rs. 11). In the state of Sunth it ranges from Is. to 5s. (Re. ^ - 2 J),
and the rate on sugarcane from 12s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 6 - 12).
In Balasinor it varies from &d. to 14s. {as. 4 - Rs. 7) a bigha.
The rate in the estate of Dorka is from 2s. to 7s. 6d. (Re. 1 - 3f )
a bigha, and 10s. (Rs. 5) a humbha. In the estate of Mandva in
the Sankheda Mehvas the rate is from 4s. to £1 7s. (Rs. 2-13|)
a humbha, which is equal to about I5 bighds. In the estates of
Vajiria and Chudesar in the same Mehvas, a humbha is equal to
about 5 bighds ; and the rates per humbha in these two estates
are from 10s. to £3 18s. (Rs. 5 - 39), and 12s. to £1 15s. (Rs. 6 - 17J)
. respectively. In Jiral Kamsoli the rate per humbha which is equal
to about l| or 2 bighds is from 6s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 3 - 12).

In the state of Lunavada where the land has been regularly
surveyed and classified, rates fixed, as in British districts, chiefly on
the quality and position of the field, have been introduced under the
sanction of the Government of Bombay. The rates vary in dry,
jirdyat, lands from Is. to 5s. Qd. (as. 8 - Rs. 2f) an acre, and in
addition a water rate of from Is. to 5s. (as. 8 - Rs. 2^) is levied.
The assessment on wells varies from 14s. (Rs. 7) on each water-lift
of unbuilt, hachcha, well, to £1 and £1 12s. (Rs. 10 and Rs. 16) on
each water bag, hos, of a built well, that waters at least 2| acres of
land.

Except in the surveyed states, Bariya, Lunavada, and Sunth,
where fixed rates are being or have been introduced, the rates
levied under the hoe, plough, or crop-share systems are supplemented
by cesses of different kinds. Of the cesses no longer in force in the
three surveyed states, the most important were those levied to meet
the tribute due to the British, the Gaikwar, and Sindia. In Bariya
this, called a horse cess, ghodi vero, was supplemented by another
known as chandi vero or horses' grain cess. It was levied in kind
on every plough, the amount varying with the plough cess from 10
to 130 pounds. ' In Lunavada it was known as the forcible one and
a half, janmdno dodiyo, and in Sunth as the robber's cess, gammi
vero.^ Another cess was the dnna tax, dm vero, a surety's cess of

Chapter_VIII.

Land
Administration.

Assessment.

Revenue
Survey.

' Janmdno dodiyo, probably a corruption of julmdno dodiyo or the forcible one and a
half, was called 1 J because the original amount was raised by one-half. Ghdnim ghoda
vero, in Hindustdni the robber's cess, was applied by the Musalmins to all Mar^tha
levies. In the Rewa Ktotha the phrase is restricted to taxes imposed by Sindia.

[Bombay Gazetteer;

STATES.

C!hapter VIII.

Laud
Administration.

Cesses.

one or two annas in the rupee of the regular assessmeptj payable
partly to the state, partly to the Vania security. A third tax was
the currency cess, pota vatdv, half a per cent on the regular payment
to coTer loss from bad or damaged coin. Besides these taxes some
villagers had to supply the state posts, thwnds, with grass either free
or at nominal rates, supporting at the same time the men who were
sent to gather in the grass. Butter and grain for the use of the
state were also taken from the villagers at less than the market
rates. In Sunth, besides the Maratha or robber cess, an October,
Bivdli, cess varying from 10s. to £2 10s. (Es. 5 - 25) was, at the
time of early harvest, levied on homestead tillage plots, vdda or
hddicha. Other cesses were the funeral butter-cess, shrdddhia ghino
vero, a money payment instead of the share of clarified butter wanted
for the funeral rites of the departed heads of the state; the
silver coin, mahmudi, cess levied from Rampur Brahman, carpenter,
and Ghanchi cultivators, when they employ persons of other castes to
help them in field work^; grain compensation, ped, a cess levied
from certain heads of villages to make up to the state for the loss of
its former privilege of taking grain at less than the market ratej
the douceur, suJchdi chirda, cess levied by the state and partly paid to
Vanias, who had formerly the right of collecting it ; ground-rent,
ghar jhumpi; and the rope cess, rdshio, to meet the state expenses on
ropes. In Lunavada the chief cesses were the service cess, hhijmati
vero, levied from some Brahmans as a quit-rent on the lands enjoyed
by them in return for seWices rendered to the state officials who
estimated the crops ; Jcaltdnu, imposed on some villages instead of
food supplied to the clerks sent to assess the crops ; hhardo samjd/voMi
taken in a few villages for the trouble of telling the people how
much rent they had to pay ; Tcali halsi, levied at the rate of one anna
on each halsi of grain due under the assessment ; havdlo, levied on
account of messengers, havdlddrs, in villages where no havdlddr was
kept ; Tchichdi vero, levied instead of the expenses incurred by some
villagers in entertaining the chiefs and their retinue when on tour
through the district ; the sharers' cess, bhdgia vero, levied like the
mahmudi cess on servants employed to help in field work ; ground-
rent, ghar jhumpi, pdga and thdnddr Idgat, a fee paid to the revenue
collector, thdnddr, and for the use of horses on occasions of marriage
or other processions ; shrdddhia ghi, instead of butter supplied to the
RajiS.s on occasions of funeral ceremonies ; a rope cess,rdshio; elephant's
grass cess, hdthini ghds ; a marriage cess, khdjru^ ; Rajput vero, paid
by some Rajputs on account of holding service land; the heir's cess,
huar chirda, a fixed cess, originally in honour of the birth of an heir
to the chief ; October cess, divdli vero, on homestead yards, vdda,
levied at the time of the early harvest; horse tax, ghoda vero, to
meet the cost of the chief's horses; charvdddr vero, to pay the
attendants, charvdddrs, on state horses ; and a ghdsni veth, to bring

' The mahmudi is worth 40 dolcdds. In EAmpur its present value is Re. 1 as. 2.

2 Khdjru means a goat. It is probable that on marriage occasions the people
formerly presented the chiefs with a goat and that this was afterwards changed into, a
mone'v navment.

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

grass into Lunavada. Special cesses were also levied on the occasions
of marriages and other erents in the chiefs family. The Kanbis, as
the best-off class of peasantSj bore the burden of these cesses. In
Chhota Udepur the chief agricultural cesses are : the kukdi vera,
instead of fowls presented to the chief when on tour ; vdgh vera, to
pay the Eaja's tiger-shooting charges ; hhdt vera, to pay his bards ;
and chcmdla vero, to pay for the marriageSj births^ and other
ceremonies in his family. In Rajpipla and Balasinor the agricultural
cesses are the same or similar, and in the state of Vajiria in the
Sankheda Mehvas, a douceur, sukJidi, of Is. (8 annas) a hurribha,
and interest at the rate of twelve per cent (2 annas in the rupee) are
levied.

In the Eewa Kantha the land revenue is collected directly by the
state officials, or by farmers to whom villages are leased for a fixed
or an indefinite number of years. The former, system of leasing
villages to headmen or money-lenders is giving way to direct state
management. The reason for the change is that, except those with
few people and scanty tillage, where it is for their interest to
attract settlers, villages have been found to suffer lasting harm from
the contractors' exactions.^

In directly managed villages the want of method on the part of
the chief and his officers and the poverty of the peasants make the
services of a middleman necessary. The middleman's duties vary in
different states. In some states the amount jiue by each husbandman
is fixed, and the work of realizing the rental is left to the Vania
or man of capital. He pays for those who cannot pay, and by
degrees recovers the money advanced. Under this system the state
promptly realizes the whole revenue ; but the poorer husbandmen are
completely enslaved to the Vania. He credits their grain at what
price he pleases, charges them for exchanging the grain into money,
and levies interest on any outstandings at the close of the season.
In other states the middleman, when an instalment of rent falls due,
gives each cultivator an order for the amount of his assessment.
This order is taken by the accountant, taldti, or the collector, thdnddr
cashed, and paid into the treasury. Sometimes the order for payment
does not even pass through the cultivators' hands but is paid by the
middleman straight into the state treasury. The amounts of the
different orders are entered against the cultivators' names, and as
his debtors they are entirely in the middleman's hands. The state
of affairs in Bariya in 1865 was thus described by Ool. Anderson

Cliapter_VIII

Land
Administration.

' In Rdjpipla, when in 1822 the British Government interfei-ed to clear off the chief's
debts, Mr. Willoughby introduced the system of leasing villages. This may have at
first been advantageous, but after some years it was found so to impoverish the
villages that no leases were renewed, and the villages, as their leases fell in were
managed directly by the chief. This change was in Mr. PoUexfen's opinion (1852-1855)
a great gain. Abuses might remain, but anything was better than the lease system
which had brought the people to such wretchedness that they had fled from their
villages. The leaseholder's one aim was to screw what he could out of his tenants.
And besides what he took himself, the people were crushed and robbed by his
underlings. Such had been the oppression that in the N^nchhal sub-division of 97
villages only 31 were inhabited; and the belt of rich land along the left bank of the TApti
was almost entirely waste aad covered with brushwood. Bom, Gov. Sel, XXIII, 313.

B S61— 10

Rent How
Realized.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

CJhapter VIII.

Land
Administration.

Instalments.

Defaults,

Reforms.

Survey.

the Political Agent. Tlie chief arranges with Vanias for the
payment of the whole village rental leaving it to the Vania to levy
the dues in detail. On all individual payments m^ore than eight
months in arrears, the middleman is entitled to a share of the
dni vera or surety^s cess. The middleman's payments are made
through the thdnddrs either before or during January, yearly interest
at the rate of nine per cent being charged on all sums outstanding.
The system suits the middleman. At times he may lose by
defaulters. But as a body the people are at his mercy, and he can
make his own terms about cash advances and produce prices.

No regular dates are fixed for paying the assessment. November
and December, a month or two after the first harvest is gathered in,
is the nominal time for paying either the first instalment or the
whole rental. But cultivators are not generally punctual, and during
the whole year the officials are at work gathering the revenue.

Default is very common. The defaulter is generally kept in custody
for a day or two at the nearest state post, thana, when he either pays
or gives security. If he neither pays nor gives security, his movable
property, except field tools and cattle, is attached and sold. Houses
are seldom sold, as in most cases both the site and the timber
belong to the chief. Occupancy sales are unknown. The large area
of arable waste in almost all villages prevents land from having a
sale value, and knowing that if he did so, he would suffer either in
person or property, a Eanbi is very unwilling to take a Koli's or
Bhil's land.

At first, and for many years, the work of putting down disturbances,
of checking gang robberies and cattle stealing, and of settling
disputes between the different states occupied almost the whole
time and attention of the Political Agents. Within the last ten
years, aided by the minority of three of the larger states, Bariya,
Lunavada, and Sunth, considerable progress has been made in the
three important points of surveying, settling alienations, and fixing
boundaries.

For more than twenty-five years after they came under British
supervision, except for military purposes, no attempt was made
to survey the Rewa Kantha districts. The first regular survey was
that of Rajpipla, undertaken in 1852 by Lieutenant J. J. Pollexfen,
Assistant Quarter Master General. Lasting through three seasons
(1852-1855), the operations included the survey of the lands
of 550 villages of which 67 were alienated. A topographical survey
of the Eewa Kantha and Panch Mahals was, under the charge of
Kao Bahadur Khushalrai Sarabhai, the present daftarddr of the
Eewa Kantha Agency, begun in 1854 and finished in 1861. The
instruments used were the prismatic compass, and the perambulator.
During the seven years the work lasted, the whole of the Eewa
Kantha and the Panch Mahals, with the exception of Bhadarva,
Umeta, Eaika, Dorka, and Anghad were surveyed, and a map
prepared. During the past ten years, advantage has been taken
of its being under direct management to survey the lands and fix
the boundaries of the Lunavada state. A circuit survey of Bariya,

Gujardt]

REWA KANTHA.

Lunavada, and Sunth, and a field survey of Bal&inor was, by
Mr. Hall of the Gujarat Revenue Survey, begun in 1867 and finisbed
in 1871, at a cost to Bariya of £6915 12s. (Rs. 69,156) and to
Lunavada of £4633 16s. (Rs. 46,338). The total number of
stations taken in the survey were 10,110 in Lunavada and 16,1 77 in
Bariya, and the total length chained was 956 miles in the former
and 1510 miles in the latter. In Lunavada the boundaries of 334
villages, and in Bariya the boundaries of 413 villages were surveyed,
settled, and marked out. The whole of the Bariya fi-ontier was
settled, and a length of 205 miles was marked by 2459 substantial
stone pillars. A circuit survey of Sunth was carried out during the
years 1873, 1874, and 1876 at a cost of about £1792 2s. (Rs. 17,921).
The number of stations taken was 7571 and the total area chained
392 square miles. Inner village boundaries were laid down partly by
Mr. Hall's establishment and partly by two officers of the state. The
twenty-one villages of the Vajiria estate in the Sankheda Mehvas
were in 1870 surveyed and mapped, and their outer boundary line
marked off. A field measurement has lately been begun, and the
Mandva estate has also been surveyed. In Lunavada, besides the
circuit survey, individual holdings in the 185 state villages were
measured and classified on survey principles. The result of the field
survey was to show that, of a total area of 168,841 acres, 18,026 or
ten per cent were taken up by roads, ponds, and village sites ; 48,391
or twenty- nine per cent were waste and forest lands; and 102,423
or sixty-one per cent were arable. Of the arable land 74,078 acres or
seventy-three per cent belonged to the state; and 28,345 or twenty-
seven per cent were alienated. In Lunavada and Sunth the rules
finally adopted for the settlement of claims to alienated lands were,
in the case of lands held under a state grant of temple endowments,
and of service grants to village servants useful to the state, entire
exemption from payment ; a levy of one quarter (4 annas in the
rupee) of the normal rent from craftsmen and other village servants
not useful to the state ; and in all other cases the levy of one-eighth
part of the normal rent. Under these rules an inquiry into titles is
still going on. In Balasinor the field measurements show, that of
a total area of 63,653 acres, 17,717 are waste not ava;ilable for tillage,
and 45,936 acres are arable. , Of the total area 19,955 acres or thirty-one
per cent are alienated and 43,698 or sixty-nine per cent belong to the
state. These lands were measured and classified according to survey
rules, but so far no attempt has been made to alter the old system
of assessment. The Balasinor state is making inquiries into titles
to abenations and levying quit-rents at various rates.

In former times boundary disputes gave rise to a large number of
murderous affrays. As jlate as 1864 the Lunavada and Sunth chiefs
quarrelled over some boundary, turned out with their troops, and had
a battle on the disputed frontier. The settlement of boundary
disputes was first actively taken up in 1866. Long frontier lines
were entrusted to single officers as commissioners, and, within three
years, most of the disputes were settled, and for the rest the
services of a single officer were found to be enough. Of the disputed
frontiers, the one between Lunavada and Balasinor was the most

ChapterVIII.

Land
Administration.

Survey,

Boundary
disputes.

[Bombay Gazetteeri
76 STATES.

Chapter^ VIII. important. The rival claims cMefly poncerned tlie forty- two villages

Land of tte Virpur subrdivision. These were placed under attachmejit by

Administration, the British Grovermnent and the result of a detailed village inquiry

Boundary 'was to show that the Balasinor claims were much the stronger.

Other rights of Lunavada in BaMsinor villages and of Balasinor in

Lunavada villages were estimated, and the Virpur villages made over

to the Balasinor chief on his agreeing to compound all claims ojj

Lunayada for a certain sum,

Giijard,tl

CHAPTER IX.

JUSTICE.

Civil courts have only lately been introduced into theEewaKantha. Chapter IX.
Civil disputes were formerly settled by arbitration, and money-lenders Justice,

were allowed to recover their outstandings as they best could.
So anxious were the chiefs to realize for themselves all that could be Civil,

taken from the cultivators, that, however just his claim, they refused
to help a money-lender to recover his debts. Occasionally, when a
trader fell into difficulties, his creditors prayed the state to recover
for them his outstanding debts, paying as a fee one-fourth part or
more of the amount realized.

At present (1879) there are twelve civil courts in the Rewa Kantha,
eight in states under the supervision of the British Government, and
four others, two in Bariya, and one each in Rajpipla and Balasinor.
Of the eight courts under British supervision the chief is the appellate
court of the Political Agent, which hears appeals from the decisions
of the assistant political agent.^ The second is the original and
appellate court of the assistant political agent with power to hear
original suits of the value of £300 (Rs. 3000) and upwards in the
Sankheda Mehvas ; of £100 (Rs. 1000) and upwards in Lunavada,
Sunth, and the Pandu and Dorka Mehvas ; and of £10 (Rs. 100) and
upwards in the Sagtala sub-division of Bariya ; and to hear appeals
against the decisions of the deputy assistant political agents of
Lunavada and Sunth, and of the Sagtala and the three Mehvas
tJidnddrs. The third and fourth are the courts of the deputy assistant
political agents of Lunavada and Sunth each with power to hear
suits of less than £100 (Rs. 1000). The fifth, sixth, seventh, and
eighth, are the courts of the tJidnddrs of Sankheda, Pandu, Dorka,
and Sagtala, the first with power to hear suits of less than £300
(Rs. 8000), the second and third of less than £100 (Rs. 1000), and
the fourth of less than £10 (Rs. 100).

In the towns of Lunavada, Rampur, Bariya, and Mandva, when
immovable or house property is transferred, the state, on receipt of a

• An appeal lies to the Political Agent in all suits relating to immovable property.
When the subject of a suit is movable property an appeal lies to the Political Agent
only when the property is worth more than £50 (Rs. 500) and the assistant political
agent has modified or reversed the original decision. A further appeal lies to
Government when the property in dispute is immovable, or if movable of more than
^300 (Rs. 3000) in value, and the Political Agent has modified or reversed the
assistant political agent's decree. Gov. Res. 3689, 9th August 1879.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter IX.
Justice.

CivU.

Criminal.

fee varying from 6 j to 15 per cent of the value of the property, granta
a deed, lehh, and enters a copy of it in a state register. It is also
usual and in some cases compulsory on payment of fees of from three
to five per cent, to register mortgage deeds of real property, wills,
and deeds of gift.

In the conduct of their work the civil courts follow the spirit of
the British civil procedure code. Besides a small charge to meet
the expenses of the court a fee of Q\ per cent on the amount in
dispute is levied when a suit or an appeal is instituted. When
a money claim has been established the debtor's movable and
immovable property is liable to be sold. An exception is made in
favour of his tools and bullocks, and in Lunavada when grain is
attached a portion of it worth £2 (Rs. 20) is set apart for the
debtor's maintenance. Imprisonment for debt is unknown. In the
case of Bhils and other wild debtors a decree is seldom taken out.
There is almost nothing to attach and a troublesome creditor
runs great risk of being roughly handled. Cases of this kind are
generally settled out of court, the debtor entering into a fresh agree-
ment with the creditor. Most suits are brought against cultivators,
and as the claim is generally the outcome of transactions lasting
over several years, the rules of the civil procedure code are not
strictly followed. An inquiry is made, a rough balance struck, and
some arrangement fixed for the payment of what seems due. Cases
of attachment and forced sale of property are rare. In the Rajpipla
and Balasinor courts institution fees are levied and decrees satisfied
out of the judgment debtors' movable and immovable property.
From their decisions an appeal lies to the state Karbharis.

As regards criminal justice the Rewa Kantha authorities belong
to five classes ; the officers, thdnddrs, who have second and third class
magisterial powers in the estates of the petty Mehvas chiefs; the third
class chiefs of Kadana, Sanjeli, Bhadarva, and Umeta, who have the
powers of a second class magistrate in offences committed by any but
British subjects ; the second class chiefs^ of Bariya and Balasinor who
can try all offenders except British subjects and the subjects of other -
states accused of capital charges ; the first class chief of Rajpipla
who can try all but British subjects for capital offences committed
within his territory ; and the Political Agent and assistant political
agent. Besides having power to try cases in which British subjects
are accused, the Political Agent as a magistrate tries cases beyond j
the powers of the thdnddrs in the Mehvas estates and the third class
chiefs. In addition to this the Political Agent presides as a
Sessions Judge in the Rewa Kantha criminal court which was
established in 1 839. In this, assisted by assessors, he tries all British
subjects accused of heinous crimes, and all such cases as the chiefs
or the local authorities are not competent to settle. He also hears
appeals against the decisions of the assistant political agent and of
the other inferior courts, and exercises a general supervision over
the administration of criminal justice. The assistant political agent

" The second class chief of Ohhota Udepur has recently been forbidden to try any
but his own subjects.

Gujardt]

EEWA KANTHA.

is vested witli the powers of a first class magistrate. He tries all
offences committed in tlie states of Lunavada^ Sunth, Kaddna,
Sanjeli, and Sagtala that are beyond tlie jurisdiction of tlie second
class magistrates, and decides all cases occurring in tlie above states
as well as those of Bariya and Balasinor in which, the criminals
happen to be British subjects. He has also the power of committing
all cases triable by the Court of Sessions and is vested with the
power of hearing appeals against the decisions of his deputies at
Lunavada and Sunth and the thdnddr of Sagtala. The deputy
assistant political agents of Lunavada and Sunth and the thdnddr of
Sagtala have the powers of second class magistrates. The thdnddr
of Sagtala has also been empowered to commit cases to the Court of
Sessions.

The chieif crimes are thefts and robberies. This is due not only
to the character of the bulk of the people, poor, unsettled and lately
brought into order, but to the nature and position of the country,
rough with woods and hills, and surrounded by states which almost
always refuse to give up offenders.^ The habit of letting unguarded
cattle graze about the hills adds greatly to the number of cattle
thefts, and the ease with which, by moving a few thorns in the side
of one of their huts, a lover or petty pilferer may find his way inside,
swells the list of housebreakings by night. The cases of simple
and grievous hurt are almost all the result of the Bhils' excessive
love for spirits. On the whole, considering the people and the
country, the crime list is by no means heavy, and cases of heinous
offences, murders, culpable homicides, and gang robberies are
comparatively rare.^

As, except in murder cases, there are no arrangements between
the Meywar and Rewa Kantha states for the surrender of offenders,
claims by the people of the different states are inquired into by a court
known as the 'International Panchayat' which holds its sittings
every year in some frontier village. This court consists of the two
British political officers in charge of the states concerned who have
power to refer cases for settlement to a local panchayat. The chief
rules for the guidance of the court are, that the claim must be made
within a year of the commission of the alleged offence ; that
travellers are bound to take guides, valdvds, and that if they neglect

Chapter IX.
Justice,

Crime.

Courts of
Award.

1 In the eastern Sunth villages parties of Bhils from across the MeywAr border
armed with bows and arrows enter a village and drive off what cattle they find,
or they wait their chance till a herd is grazing near the border, and, rushing across,
carry them off. The police can do nothing as they cannot follow the offenders across
the border. Mr. Presoott, Superintendent of Police.

2 Mr. Presoott (1874) gives the following details of a daooity in Sunth. One
morning in May, shortly before sunrise, a body of fifteen mounted and armed men,
provided with four camels, entered the small village of Sarsan. The villagers offering
no resistance, they forced their way into a monastery, robbed it of £800 (Rs. 8000),
and left within an hour. Word was sent to a police post close by, and the police,
raising the Bhils as they went along, pursued the robbers, and with the loss of three
of their number killed and several wounded, kiUed two of the robbers, secured six
more, and wounded some of the rest who made good their escape. Inquiry showed
that the robbers had come from Jodhpur. They were probably induced to make the
foray by some false tale of the monastery's wealth.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter IX.
Justice.

Courts of
Award.

Police.

tMs, no claim can stand ; that if the complainant is not present the
defendant, if lie pleads not guilty, may be discharged, and if the
defendant fails to appear, the complainant may gain his case by
taking an oath as to the justice of his claim ; and that the state in
whose limits the crime was committed' is responsible for the arrest
of the offenders and for seeing that the court's sentence is carried
out. All sentences are fines, payable as compensation to the
complainant, and varying in amount according to the nature of
the offence.^ When the officers agree there is no appeal. When
they differ the case is referred to the Eajputana Agent to the G-overnor
General. Decisions of local panchdyats, in cases referred to them
by the political officers, are final. The working of the present
system is not satisfactory. In 1874 the president reported that ' he
had never seen such an amount of unblushing falsehood and
undisguised subornation of evidence,' and in 1878 the E,ewa Kantha
Political Agent urged that the border court should give place to
an extradition treaty.^

In former times the duty of keeping order was entrusted to the
mercenary troops, sibandi, both horse and foot, of which the total
strength was, in 1854, returned at 1939.^ These troops, without
method or discipline, were unfit to keep order. In several parts
of the district, especially in the border villages of Gujarat and
Meywar, the people were in a state of chronic hostility. Eeceiving
little help from their chiefs, they refused to pay them revenue or yield
them obedience, and were not brought to order till a special
post had been established among them. Besides their police
duties, this sibandi was useful in collecting land and other
revenue, and served to swell the , retinues of the chiefs. In 1865,
when Bariya came under the supervision of the Political Agent,
efforts were made to improve the sibandi by introducing some of
the method and drill of a regular police force. The attempt was
repeated when in 1867 Lunavada came under direct management.
Though some improvement was made the result was not satisfactory.
There was no proper supervision. The native assistants had
neither the training nor the leisure to look closely after the police.
Accordingly when, in 1872, the neighbouring state of Sunth came
under direct management, the Political Agent proposed to
Government that the police of the three states should be formed into
one body. This proposal was approved and a federal police, 441
strong,* and costing about £5926 (Es. 59,260), was formed and

1 Except in the case of murder, when according to the new rnles (29th September
1877) instead of a fine the surrender of the offender can be demanded, the amounts
of compensation are : for wounding, abduction of married women, forcible abduction
of unmarried women, and unlawfully carrying oflf, arresting, or detaining a person,
2s. to £30 ; for carrying off a riding camel £8 ; a baggage camel £5 ; a she and he buffalo
respectively £3 10s. and £1 10s. ; a cow £1 10s.; a buUock £2 4g.; a riding pony
£1 4s. ; a bull £1 ; a calf 10s. ; a sheep 4s. ; and a goat 4s.

" Pol. Agent, Adm. Report, 1874-75 and 1878-79.

'The details are : RAjpipla, 1002 ; BAriya, 83 horse and 158 foot ; Chhota Udepur,
67 horse and 213 foot ; LunivAda, 43 horse and 162 foot ; Sunth 20 horse and 67
foot ; and BAl&inor, 24 horse and 100 foot,

■• The details are : 399 foot and 42 horse.

Police.

Gigarit.]

REWA KANTHA. 81

placed rmder tlie auperintendence of a Britlsli officer, and, in 1875, its Chapter IX.

operations were extended to Kadana and Sanjeli. The result was Justice.

satisfactory. There was a marked advance in order and method,

and the bands of cattle-lifters and marauders who used to carry their

raids into the heart of Sunth were afraid to pass beyond the border

villages.^ In 1876 when the Bariya chief came of age his police

contingent was withdrawn, and to reduce its cost the European

officer was replaced by a Native. The Bariya chief engaging to

maintain in efficiency 153 foot and 17 mounted police, the federal

force was reduced to 276. Its cost, £3797 (Es. 37,970), was so

heavy a burden to Lunavada and Sunth, that in 1877-78 it was

further reduced to £3152 (Rs. 31,520).

As regards the police of the other Eewa Kdntha states, in
Eajpipla there are on police duty 100 sibandi, 70 of them foot and
30 horse. The mounted police are armed with guns and swords,
and are paid £2 (Rs. 20) a m.onth, out of which the keep of their
horses is taken. The foot police wear a black uniform, and are
armed with guns, swords, and batons. The Chhota Udepur police
is 199 strong, 30 of them mounted and 169 foot. The mounted
police, armed with guns and swords, are paid 14s. (Es. 7) a month,
the state feeding their horses and meeting the cost of their keep.
The Balasinor police is 110 strong, 25 of them mounted and 85 foot.
The mounted police, of whom two are officers, are supplied with
horses whose keep is met by the state and are paid 10s. (Rs. 5) a
month. In the Mehvas tracts there is no regular police. The
chiefs are too poor to pay for a proper force and too indifferent
to exert themselves to keep order and punish offenders. The police
of their estates is in the hands of the thdnddrs whose only force
is the irregular body of horse known as the Gaikwar's contingent.
This, 314 strong, was originally a force bound by treaty to
accompany British troops on service and was afterwards posted
to the different tributary districts. Its duties are ill defined. It is
used more to stimulate the petty chiefs to arrest offenders than as
an active agent in police inquiries.

In the whole of Rewa Kantha there is no regular village police.
The duties of revenue and police patels are generally united in one
person, who holds service, pasdita, land or enjoys some exemption
from the payment of plough-tax. They help the police ia catching
offenders, mustering the bad characters of the village, tracking
footprints of thieves, telling the police of accidental or suicidal
deaths, and performing other petty police duties. The village
watch, rakhds, generally Bhils or Kolis, are paid in the same way
as patels, though on a smaller scale. In some cases where there
is no state provision, the villagers pay them in grain, the watch
agreeing in return to make compensation for all thefts and robberies
that may be traced to their dishonesty or want of care.

" Mr. Presoott, Superintendent of Police.
B 561— H

[Bombay Gazetteer

STATES.

Chapter IX.
Justice-
Police.

Jails.

The following table gives tlie crime and police details for the five
years ending 1878-79 :

Sewa Kdniha Crime and Police, 1875-1879.

Ybar.

■ —

Offencss ma Cokviciions.

Pkopeett.

Offences.

Arrests.

ConTic-
tions.

Percent-
age.

Stolen.

Eeoovered.

Percent-
age.

1874-75
1876-76
1876-77
1877-78
1878-79

1630
1247
1631
2008
3091

2531
2143
■ 2390
3531
6333

1525
1274
1482
2290
4359

60-25
69-45
62-00
64-85
68-83

1560
2062
3005
6379
7004

468

434

810

1041

1832

29
21
27
19
26

Till lately there were no jails in the Eewa Kantha. Priaonera
were confined in rooms attached to the chiefs' dwellings, and, till they
paid their fines, were kept in the stocks, ill fed and iU cared for.
In the states under direct management, efforts have been made to
improve the jail accommodation. New jails have been built in
Bariya, Rampur, Eajpipla, and BaMsinor, and in Lunavada the state
granary has been prepared to receive prisoners. There are nineteen ;
lock-ups, and a jail is shortly to be built at Ohhota Udepur. In
Bdriya, Sunth, Lunavada, and Eajpipla, the health of the convicts
is looked after by medical officers in charge of local dispensaries.
Except a few at Lunavada who make tape for cots the convicts are
kept at out-door labour.

Gnjar&t]

CHAPTER X.

REVENUE AND FINANCE-

In former times the disturbed state and isolated position of the
country, the rivalry among the chiefs to secure settlers, and the
lavish grants of land to Brahmans, Bhats, and others, prevented the
land from yielding any large amount of revenue. Between 1863 and.
1865 the rise in the price of field produce fostered the spread of
tillage, and increased the rental of rich lands. Since then, by the
opening of railways and roads, the tillage area has continued to
spread, and, except for the loss caused by the failure of crops in
1878, the land revenue has steadily risen.

Few details of the finances of the different states are available.
The Eajpipla revenues which.from disorders and disputed successions,
feU from £34,558 (Es. 3,45,580) in 1776 to £17,636 (Es. 1,76,360)
in 1830, have since 1880 steadily risen to £27,000 (Es. 2,70,000)
in 1854 and £67,967 (Es. 6,79,670) in 1876.1 Of the expenditure
very little is recorded, and, as in all native states, pilgrimages^
marriages, deaths, or other chance events in the chief's family
cause such sudden changes ia expenditure, that it is hard to say
how far the great advance in revenue has been swallowed up by an
increase in charges. The few available materials seem to show that
the Eajpipla finances are prosperous. Between 1829 and 1833
the expenditure far outran the revenue, £24,556 against £17,636;
between 1833 and 1839 and again between 1840 and 1848 the
balance was restored, and of £22,463 to £20,640 only about
£18,000 were on an average spent. Since 1850 the great increase
of revenue has been accompanied by a marked rise in expenditure,
from £18,015 in 1848 to £60,935 in 1876. Still this amount falls
about £7000 short of the estimated revenue, and much more of it
than formerly is spent on works of public use, on roads, police,
courts of justice, and dispensaries.

The Bariya revenue figures do not go further back than 1825.
In that year the revenue was returned at £6117 ; iu 1860 it had
risen to £9375 ; and iu 1864 when the state came under British
management it stood at £15,231. Prom this it rose to £16,028 in
1870, £20,190 in 1871, and £19,823 in 1872, Afterwards, except in
1874 when by the receipt of marriage dowries the total was swollen
to £22,520, the revenue declined to about £17,000 in 1876 and 1876.

Chapter X.

Bevenne and
Finance-

Bdjpiplft.

Bdriya.

• The details are : an average of £34,558 from 1776 to 1785 ; of £25,940 from 1794 to
1803 ; of £25,016 from 1804 to 1810 ; of £23,796 from 1810 to 1819 ; of £22,122 from
1821 to 1828 ; of £17,636 from 1829 to 1833 ; of £22,463 from 1833 to 1839 ; of £20,640
from 1840 to 1848 ; £27,000 in 1854, and £67,967 in 1876. The 1878 estimate is £80,000

[Bombay Gaietteer,

84<

STATES.

Chapter X.

Revenne and
Finance-

Bdriya.

Luniv&da.

Snnth.

Since 1876, owing to extended cultivation and better management,
it has again risen to more than £18,000.^ When the state was
taken over in 1864 it was burdened by a debt of £10,803. The
expenditure was then £7935. Outlay on a revenue survey, roads,
and other public works, raised the expenditure to £9421 in 1870,
to £16,333 in 1871, to £16,937 in 1872, and to £12,259 in 1873. In
1874 the double marriage of the chief increased the charges to
£24,726, but in spite of this, in 1877, when his state was handed over
to the chief, there was, instead of a debt of £10,803, a cash balance
of £18,111. During the last two years, in 1877 on account of
investiture charges, and in 1878 on account of famine charges ,1
amounting to £4028, the expenditure has been in excess of the i
income. Still the Bariya finances are prosperous and satisfactory. , ,

The Lunavada revenue rose from £6742 in 1852 to £8289 in
1859 and £11,113 in 1866. Then under the management of the
Political Agent it increased to £12,903 in 1872 and £14,830 in 1874.
In 1876 it fell to £12,833, but has since, in spite of the last year of
scarcity, slightly risen to £13,558.^ In 1867 when it came under
direct management, the expenditure was returned at £12,429. Since
then, in spite of economy, survey and other public works have
prevented any reduction of charges, and in 1878 the marriage of the
chief and the high price of grain raised the expenditure to £16,425.
When it came under management, the state was heavily burdened,
and during the first year the debt was greatly increased by the
succession fee of £8256 to the British Government, and an outlay
of £9537 on funeral and other family ceremonies. In spite of these
and other heavy charges, £10,280 for the revenue survey and
£4000 for the marriage of the chief's sister, by 1877 the debt was
reduced to £6466. In that and the next year expenses connected
with the scarcity and the chief's marriage have again raised it to
£12,129. But it is hoped that during the present season this
debt will be reduced by about £3000, the proceeds of a special
marriage cess, chdndla vero.

The land revenue of Sunth was in 1854 returned at £1317.
During the next eighteen years of his rule the late Raja raised
it to £6000 or an increase of 460 per cent. In 1868 the total state
revenue was returned at £8297. The state came under Agency
management in 1872. Since then, by the sale of some state stores,
rising to £19,331 in 1873, the revenue has fallen to £11,180 in
1874, and to about £9000 in 1876 and 1878.3 The expenditure in
1868, returned at £5680, rose from special causes to £14,814 in
1874, and has since been reduced to £9160. Well managed by its
late chief, the state was, in 1872, handed over with about £24,000

1 The details are : £6117 in 1825 ; £9375 in 1860 ; £15,231 in 1864 ; £16,028 in
1870 ; £19,823 in 1872 ; £17,976 in 1873 ; £22,520 in 1874 ; £17,001 in 1875 ; £17,209
in 1876 ; f 18,6i4 in 1877 ; and £18,226 in 1878.

2 The details are: £6742 in 1852; £8289 in 1859 ; £11,113 in 1866 5 £12,842 in
1868 ; £13,500 in 1870 ; £12,988 in 1871 ; £12,903 in 1872 ; £11,465 in 1873 ; £14,830
in 1874 ; £14,794 in 1875 ; £12,833 in 1876 ; £13,720 in 1877 ; and £13,558 in 1878.

» The details are : £8297 in 1868 ; £19,331 in 1873 ; £11,180 in 1874 ; £12,404 in
1875 ; £9385 in 1876 ; £10,147 in 1877, and £9252 in 1878.

Oajar&t-l

REWA KANTHA.

(Baroda Es. 2^ Idhhs) in cash and jewels. Under Agency
management, in spite of heavy family charges and considerable
sums spent on a revenue survey and on police, the finances of the
state have on the whole continued prosperous.

The few details available for other states seem to show a
marked increase in wealth. In Chhota Udepur revenue has risen
from £8000 in 1841 to £10,000 in 1854, and from that to £25,000
in 1878; in Balasinor, since 1854, from £4000 to £8000; in Sanjeli
from £100 in 1841 to £140 in 1849, and to £510 in 1878; and in
Kadanafrom £120 in 1841 to £250 in 1849, and £1000 in 1878. In
these states no expenditure details are available.

Import, export, and transit duties are levied on an uncertain
number of articles, additions and changes being made at the caprice
of the chiefs. Besides those levied by the larger states, the smaller
chiefs charge toUs, vasdvo, on traders' carts and on pack bullocks.
Merchants refusing to pay, seldom escape without being robbed.
In Sunth a hurtful grain export duty is levied, but it is difficult
to remove it without causing serious loss to the state revenues.
Of other cesses the chief is a license tax, kasab vero, levied from
almost all traders and artisans.-^ In Mandva, in the Sankheda
Mehvas, a cess is levied on all second marriages. In Chanod from
10s. to £5 (Rs. 5 - 50) is claimed on newly made doors or
windows, and at fairs from £1 to l^d. (Rs. 10-1 anna) is taken
from each booth or stall. In Bariya, wandering comb-makers pay
for the wood they use in making combs, and from outside timber-
dealers a wood cess is recovered. In Sunth the holders of service,
patdvat, land pay a yearly sum in commutation of service, and in
many states, villagers who have no land pay a cess for the use of
the village water, pdni vero. Of other cesses one at the rate of Is.
(8 annas) is levied on the burning of bodies brought from other
districts, and another of £1 2s. (Rs. 11) on Br^hmans who, at holy
places on the Narbada, lay the spirits of the dead and perform
other ceremonies.^ Other yearly cesses date, according to the
common story, from some chance injudicious gift. A Lunavada
chief stopping to dine at one of his villages, the Brahmans brought
him a set of leaf plates and so established the precedent for a yearly
demand for plates, afterwards commuted into a money payment. So
too from the gift by some calenders, of robes for the chief to sit on,
was founded a yearly claim for clothes and money; and a yearly
grass cess dates from the chance supply of fodder for the chiefs
horses.

Chapter X.

Beveaue
and Finance.

Sunth.

' The tax is levied on carpenters and blaokamitha ; on tanners ; on hand-loom
weavers ; on soap makers ; on Narbada boatmen ; on goldsmiths ; on oibuen ; on
fishermen ; on dust-heap searchers ; and on potters.

2 This, called the Ndriyan offering, Ndrdyan bali, ceremony, consists in the
performance of shrdddh ceremonies in honour of some dead relative, who, it is
believed, has not attained bliss in the other world. Childless persons also perform
this ceremony to propitiate TSi&T&yaa.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter ZI.
Instruction.

Schools,
1878-79.

Staff,

Instruction.

Private Schools.

CHAPTER XI.

INSTRUCTION.

In 1878-79 there were sixty-seven schools^ or on an average one
school for every fifty-two villages, with 3448 names on the rolls and
an average attendance of 3335 or 1'3 per cent of 260,278, the entire
population of not more than twenty years of age. Excluding
superintendence charges, the total expenditure on account of these
schools was £1723 (Rs. 17,230).

Under the Director of public instruction and the Education
Inspector, northern division, the schooling of the Rewa Kantha
district was in 1878-79, conducted by a local staff 130 strong. Of
these one was an assistant deputy inspector, with general charge over
all the schools of the district drawing a yearly pay of £95 (Rs. 950}
from the Rewa Kantha education and the B^riya tribute funds ; the
rest were masters and assistant masters of schools, supported at a
yearly charge to the states of £112 (Rs. 1120).

Of sixty-seven, the total number of schools, in sixty-six Grujarati
only was taught, and in one Hindustani. Of the Gujarati schools
three were for girls, in the towns of Nandod, Lunavada, and
Balasinor.

There are no aided private schools in the district. Before the
introduction of state education, almost every Rewa Kantha village
had its private school taught by a Brahman. These could not
compete with schools helped or supported by state funds, and their
number fell in 1875-76 to nine with an average attendance of 269
pupils. During the rainy season stray Brahmans sometimes open
temporary classes in villages unprovided with state schools. But
most of these villages are small, unable to supply an attendance of
more than ten boys. For two or three of the rainy months and at
harvest times the Brahman teacher is generally paid in grain and
sometimes in money. His total receipts generally vary from £5 to
£7 10s. (Rs. 50-75). Most private schools in towns have been
established by the forefathers of the present Brahman teachers.
On entering the school, a boy offers Is. (8 annas) to Sarasvati, the
goddess of learning. Every day he attends, he brings the teacher
a handful of grain, rmithi, and on holidays, %d. (i a/nna) in addition.
When a boy is going to be married, his teacher gets 2s. (Re. 1) for
teaching him marriage songs. Boys seldom stay at these schools
after twelve and most of the pupils are under ten. Girls, as a rule,
do not attend them. Between six and eight, boys are taught native
numerical tables, anhs. Afterwards they learn to write by tracing
letters, mulaksha/rs, on sanded boards, and by writing characters.

Gnjar&t-]

REWA KlNTHA.

ndma, with wet chalk on black boards. They seldom learn writing
wellj but mental arithmetic, Msah, is taught to perfection, and this
part of their teaching has been adopted in state schools. The boys
go to their teacher's dwelling and as his house is often small, in the
mornings and evenings the pupils sit in a group at the side of the
street in front of the school- door, working sums or shouting out
arithmetical tables.^ The position of the masters, and the religious
elements ia some parts of their instruction, greatly help them ui
their competition with the purely secular instruction given in state
schools.

In 1864-65 there were thirteen schools, eleven for boys and two for
girls, with a total number of 1023 pupils. In 1878-79 the number
of schools had risen to 67 or 515 per cent, and the number of pupils
to 3448 or 887 per cent. The following table shows in detail the
advance made in the last fourteen years :

Rewa KdmtTia Schools, 1864 • 1879.

Stats.

SOHOOLS.

Fufhs.

AVERAOK

AITBND-

ANOB.

Zeae.

Cost.

1864-65.

1878-79.

1864-65.

1878-79.

1864-65.

1878-79.

Biriya

Lanivdda

Edjpipla

Sankheda Mehvds

Sunth

Chhota Udepnr ...

Bdl&sinor

PindaMehvia ...

Bhidarva

DorfcaMehv&B ...

Kadina

Sanjeli

Total ...

(Boys 1
1 Girls 1

(Boys 1
I Girls 1

1 -

Boys 12

Girls 1

(Boys 10

t Girls 1

(Boys 2

1 Girls 1

77
} 166
] 133

*64
93

1 419

601
788

742

287
225
146

448

25
125
31
19
11

609-9

f 698-0

i 31-5

C 726-1

I 32-5

242-8

226-8

133-8

(■ 404-6

I 86-3

28-S

1183

160

23-2

9-0

£.
15

}.5

"is

21
} 54

"19
16

400
354

364

162
163
114

27
16
17
21

1023

3448

...

167

1723

The 1872 census returns give for the two chief races of the district,
the following proportion of persons able to read and write. Of
93,904, the total Hindu male population of not more than twelve years
ofage2836or3"02per cent; of 42,588 above twelve and not more than
twenty years, 2599 or 6"10 percent; and of 122,679 above twenty
years, 7796 or 6"36 per cent were able to read and write or were being
taught. Of 82,085 the total Hindu female population of not more than
twelve years of age, seventy-two or 0*08 per cent; of 32,124 above
twelve and not more than twenty years of age, thirty-two or 0'09 per
cent; and of 112,049 above twenty years, fiffy-eight or 0*05 per cent
were able to read and write or were being taught. Of 8508 the
total Musalman male population of not more than twelve years of
age, 117 or 3'34 per cent; of 1703 above twelve and not more than
twenty years of age, 1 75 or 10*28 per cent ; and of 5586 above twenty

Chapter ZI.
Instruction.

Private Schools.

Progress,
1864-1879.

Readers and

Writers,

1872.

' The school hours are from eight to about twelve in the morning, and three to
about six in the afternoon.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XI.
Instruction.

Readers and

Writers,

1872.

Caste of FnpUs,
1879.

Libraries.

years, 511 or 9"15 per cent were able to read and write or were being
taught. Of 2951 tbe total Musalman female population of not more
than twelve years of age, nine or 0"31 per cent ; of 1334 above twelve
and not more than twenty years of age, eight or 0'60 per cent ; and of
6022 above twenty years, 22 or 0'43 per cent were able to read and
write or were being taught. The returns do not give corresponding
details for Parsis.

Of 3448 the total number of pupils in the Eewa Kantha schools,
there were in 1878-79, 949 or 27-5 per cent Brahmansj 184 or 5-3
per cent Kshatris; 3 or -08 per cent Kayasths and Parbhusj 740 or
21"4 per cent traders, Vanias, Bhatias, and Modhias; 55 or 1'5 per
cent Jains (Shravaks) ; 694 or 20"1 per cent cultivators, Kanbis, and
Kolis ; 230 or 6'6 per cent craftsmen, goldsmiths, carpenters, and
blacksmiths; 152 or 4*4 per cent personal servants, Dhobhis
washermen, Bhistis water-carriers, and Mochis shoemakers ; 124 or
2"6per cent bards and genealogists, Bhats andOharans; 208 or 6'03
per cent Musalmans ; 5 Parsis ; 5 hill tribemen, and 3 Portuguese.
There were no Dhed or Bhangia pupils. In Bariya, in the purely
Bhil and Koli villages, no school fee is charged and every inducement
is held out to parents to send their children. In the Taluka schools
of Bariya and Lunavada pupil teachers are trained to be masters
of primary village schools, and scholarships are awarded to those
who wish to study in the Ahmedabad high and training schools, or
in the Nariad high school. The Lunavada state has awarded a
monthly scholarship of £1 to a native of that state who passed the
Bombay University matriculation examination.

There are three libraries, at Lunavada, at Devgad in the Bariya
state, and at Rampur in Sunth. The Barton library at Lunavada,
called after Colonel Barton the late Political Agent, was established
in May 1870. It is accommodated in one of the school rooms, and
is maintained by a yearly grant of £8 16s. (100 syhdsdi rupees). It
contains 118 books, almost all of them vernacular. The Devgad
library, known as the Native Library, established in July 1872 and
containing 123 books, almost all of them vernacular, is maintained
by a yearly grant of £8 16s. (100 syhdsdi rupees). The Rampur
library, opened in 1877, has very few books, almost all of them
vernacular. It is maintained by a yearly state grant of £5 (Rs. 50).
All of these institutions subscribe to G-ujarati newspapers, and
Gujarati and Marathi Bombay and Gujarat periodicals. There is no
local press or newspaper.

Gujarit.]

CHAPTER XII.

HEALTH.

The chief diseases are fever, eye and skin complaints, and Chapter XII.
diarrhoea and dysentery. Cholera not unfrequently appears in the Health,

hot season. There have been three outbreaks during the last four Diseases.

years. In May 1875, several cases of cholera caused such a panic,
that in some places the people left their houses and spent a day
or two feasting outside of the villages. Except for a short time
in the estates of Bhadarva and Sihora on the Mahi and Palasni on
the Narbada, the disease was nowhere of a virulent type. It lasted
till September and proved fatal in about forty-five per cent of the
cases. To help the people a hospital assistant was sent from
Baroda, and medicine distributed free of charge. Among the
wilder tribes the belief prevails that cholera is caused by old
women who feed on the corpses of the victims. Formerly when a
case occurred, their first care was to go to the soothsayer, bhagat,
find out from him who was the guilty witch, and kill her with much
torture. Of late years this practice has to a great extent ceased.
The people now trace the outbreak to the wrath of the goddess
Kali and to please her, drag her cart through their streets and lifting
it over the village boundary offer up goats and buffaloies. Some-
times to keep off the disease they pour milk round their villages or
encircle them with cotton thread.

In July 1876, there was another rather sharp, though brief,
outbreak in Lunavada, Sunth, and the Dorka Mehvas. Of the
seizures about forty-nine per cent were fatal. Again in 1878,
cholera raged from March to November, and of 3934 persons, 1766
or forty-five per cent died.^ It spread over almost the whole
Agency beginning in Rajpipla, Balasinor, and the Sankheda
Mehvas ; and passing to Lunavada, Sunth, Kadana and the Pandu
and Dorka Mehvas. Places without dispensaries were provided
with medicine free of charge.

In 1879, there were dispensaries^ at five places in Nandod, Bariya, Dispensaries.
Sunth, Lunavada, and Ohhota Udepur. All of them are provided

' The details are :

—

ESjpipla.

Luni-
T4da.

Sunth.

BaSr
sinor.

San-
kheda.

Pindu.

Dorka.

Kadina.

Total.

Number attacked ...
Kumber recovered ...
Percentage

1332
631
47-0

614
340
66-0

672
681
86-0

640
243
390

313

118
39-0

283
13.5
490

70'0

116

66-0

3934

2168

^ The building for a sixth dispensary at BAlAsinor is nearly ready.
B 561—12

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter XII.
Heliith.

Dispensaries.
NAndod.

Sunlh,

Lundvdda.

Chhota
Vdepur,

Vaccination,

STATES.

with special buildings. For the Ohhota Udepur dispensary no
returns are available. In the other four, during 1877-78, 17,553
persons were treated, 335 of them in-door and 17,218 out-door. The
total cost was £730 (Es. 7300).

In the Mary hospital opened in 1871 at Nandod and called after
Mrs. Barton, the wife of the late Political Agent, during 1877-78,
2484 persons were treated, of whom 2451 were out-door and 33
in-door. Of these 2428 were cured, 29 left, and 27 died. The
prevailing diseases were ague, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera, and
skin diseases. The total cost was £167 (Es. 1670).

The Bariya dispensary was opened in 1870 at a cost of £700
(Es. 7000). Besides accommodation for in-door patients, it contains
quarters for the medical officer and his subordinates. In 1877-78,
3173 persons were under treatment, 215 of them in-door, of whom
46 were cured, 30 left and 79 died, and 2958 out-door patients of
whom 2054 were cured. The chief forms of sickness were venereal
diseases, skin diseases, fever, cholera, ophthalmia, and diseases of
the stomach and bowels. The total cost was £250 (Es. 2500).

The Eampur dispensary in a handsome building at the west
end of Sunth was at a cost of £400 (Es. 4000) opened in December
1873, soon after the state was attached. Besides accommodation •
for several in-door patients it contains quarters for the medical
officer and his subordinates. In 1877-78, 4559 persons were under
treatment, of whom 4492 were out-door and 67 in-door patients. Of
the out-door patients 4122 were cured, 240 left, 94 died, and 36
remained. Of the in-door, 50 were cured, 13 left, two died and two
remained. The daily average attendance was 39. The chief diseases
were fever, constipation, bronchitis, cholera, diarrhoea, ulcers,
ring-worm, and ophthalmia. The total cost was £142 (Es. 1420).

The Lunavada dispensary was opened in June 1873 in a large
house belongijig to the state with quarters for the medical officer
and rooms for in-door patients. Of 7337 persons treated during
1877-78, twenty were in-door and 7317 out-door patients. The former
were all cured. Of the latter 6100 were cured, 949 left, 125 died,
and 143 remained. The daily average attendance was 63"2. The
prevailing diseases were fever, cholera, rheumatism, neuralgia,
conjunctivitis, ulcers, bronchitis, dysentery, diarrhoea, constipation,
and ring-worm. The total cost was £171 (Es. 1710).

The Chhota Udepur dispensary was opened in 1878-79. No details
of its working are yet available. The building for a dispensary at
Balasinor is nearly finished. It will cost about £500 (Es. 5000).

The work of vaccination was, in 1878-79 under the supervision of
the deputy sanitary commissioner eastern Grujarat, carried on by
twelve vaccinators paid out of the funds of the states to which they
are attached. The cost was £278 (Es. 2780) or an average of 5i.
(3 as. 4 pies) for each operation. During the year, 13,339 persons
were vaccinated, 13,247 of them for the first time. The percentage
of successful operations was 96'54 in primary and 82'60 in
revaccinated cases.

Gnjardt.]

CHAPTER XIII.

STATES.'

Ra'jpipla the largest of tlie Rewa Kantha states, lying between
21° 23' and 21° 59' north latitude and 73° 5' and 74° 0' east longitude,
with an area of about 1500 square miles, had in 1872 a population
of 120,036 souls or 79-26 to the square mile, and in 1878 a revenue
of £67,000 (Rs. 6,70,000).

It is bounded on the north by the river Narbada and the Rewa
Kantha Sankheda Mehvas estates ; on the east by the Khandesh
Mehvas estates ; on the south by Baroda territory and the Surat
district ; and on the west by the district of Broach. Its length
from north to south is forty-two and its breadth from east to west
sixty miles.

As they enter Gujarat, the Narbada and Tapti, separated by the
Satpuda hills, flow about twenty-five miles apart. Further west^ forced
asunder by the two ranges into which the Satpudas break, the
rivers swerve outwards, in the next twenty-five mUes doubling the
distance betweeen them. Again as the hills fall into the Gujarat
plain, the streams draw together nearly as close as they were at the
eastern border of Gujarat. Except the south-west comer the
country so enclosed belongs to, and forms the greater part of, the
Rajpipla state. With some rich well tilled lands in the north and
north-west this tract is, over almost two-thirds of its surface, rough,
wild, and unhealthy, covered with forests and hills. Along the north
and north-west, and ia the west as far as Yasravi and Mandvi, the
country is flat and open. In the north along the Narbada is a rich
alluvial belt about ten miles broad, with the town of Nandod and
many large villages of settled, well-to-do, and skilled husbandmen.
In the west and south-west the land, except for patches round its
small Bhil villages, is untilled and covered with grass and brush-
wood.^ Eastwards, beyond the sources of the Kim, the country
stretches a rough upland covered with elephant grass, thorn-
bushes, and timber, dotted with small hills, and crossed from the
south and south-east by the Karjan and Tarav rivers. Its few
inhabitants are Bhils, wild, poor and unsettled, growing only the
coarser grains. Except to the west this central plain is, on all
sides, surrounded by hills. To the north, beginning in the west
with low isolated mounds, the land rises eastwards into a ten mile

ChapterXIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

Boundaries,

Aspect,

' The states are arranged according to their size and wealth.

' Colonel FuUjames calla it (1852) a thick forest. Bom. Gov, Sel. XXIII. 112.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

Kirera.

broad tract of hills, ridge behind ridge, with steep forest-clad sides
and sharp rugged crests and peaks 2000 feet high. To the south-west
and south, the hUls are low with tame waving outlines and broad
flat tops. To the east the Sagbara and other high ranges rise with
bold outline far above the west Rajpipla hills almost to the level of
the main range of the Satpudas. In all these hilly tracts the
climate is most unwholesome and the poor unsettled tribes of
Bhils, with little and coarse tillage, live chiefly by cutting timber
and selling gum, honey, and wax. Besides the tract between the
T^pti and the Narbada the Eajpipla chief owns land on the north
bank of the Narbada. This about twenty-one miles north and
south by eight east and west is, except on the river side,
surrounded by Mehvas estates and like them is rugged, wooded,
and unhealthy.

The drainage of the tract between the Tapti and Narbada flows
along three main lines, north-west to the Narbada, south-west to
the Kim, and south to the Tapti. Of these lines the most important,
including the drainage of almost the whole central and eastern
uplands, lies along the rivers that flow into the Narbada. Of these
streams there are, in the extreme east, the Deva, and in the north-
west and west the Madhumati, Bundva, Kaveri, and Amravati.
Midway between them, rising about ten miles from the Tdpti in the
highest part of the southern range, the Karjan flows north draining
the central uplands, cutting through the northern hills, crossing the
rich Nandod plain, and after a course of about fifty mUes, falling into
the Narbada at Eundh. Among the hills with steep well-wooded
banks and rocky bed, it passes into the plains about fifty yards
broad, the stream generally knee-deep, flowing throughout the
year clear and sparkling. Of many tributaries the chief are the
Mohan from the left and the Tarav from the right. The Mohan,
risiag in the southern hills not far from the southern source of the
Vari, flows north-west and after a course of about fifteen miles, falls
into the Karjan at Thava. The Tarav, a more important tributary,
rising in the lofty hills near Ohich Amli, flows west for about twenty
miles, and then, joined from the left by the Dainan, turns north,
and after a winding course of about twelve miles, falls into the
Karjan a few miles west of the fort of Eajpipla. Of the drainage
westwards, the Kim, rising in two streams a few miles west of the
Karjan valley, flows about twenty miles to the south-west. From
the southern hills three rivers drain south into the Tapti, the Vari
in the west, the Ajan in the centre, and the Dudan in the east.
The Vari with two streams rising in the south-west corner of the
southern hills, passes about twenty-five miles south-west and falls
into the Tapti about five miles above the town of Bodhan. The
Ajan, from the high Nanchhal hills, close to the source of the
Karjan, with a winding rocky and uneven bed and steep banks,
forces its way through the hills, and, joined by many streams from
either side, falls into the Tapti at Magatrav about twelve miles
above Mandvi. The Dudan, rising from the eastern slopes of the
same hills, flows south-east through the Sagbara lowlands and falls
into the Tapti at Umerda about thirty miles above the Ajan.
Besides these rivers many small streams cross the country especially

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

in the north-west most of them dry in the hot months though
water is at all times easily found by digging in their beds. Built
wells nowhere numerous are found only in the north and north-
west. But their want is little felt as most villages are well supplied
with water drawn from wells sunk in the beds of streams.

The Rajpipla hills, covering about two-thirds of the whole area
of the Rajpipla state, may be roughly divided into three tracts. In
the north, a ten mile broad very rugged belt of hilly and thickly
wooded country stretching east and west about thirty -six miles on
the whole parallel to the Narbada ; in the south, a belt of low
flat-topped sloping hills running north and south to the Tapti and then,
along the course of the river, turning east for about twenty miles ;
in the east, ranges of high hills that fill most of the space between
the Narbada and the Tapti. From the Deva, Rajpipla's eastern,
limit, the northern hills, crowded in steep narrow and forest-clad
ridges about 2000 feet high, gradually sink westwards, till,
breaking into low detached lulls, they are lost in the Gujarat plain.
In the east the hill scenery along the south bank of the Narbada
from Sarban about ten miles west to Gora, is very beautiful. And
looking east and south from one of the hill tops, with bold quaintly-
cut outlines, range stretches behind range, their steep green tree-
covered sides furrowed with torrents. The southern hilly tract
includes two main lines that together form one crescent-shaped
range, a western part running north and south fifteen miles from
the valley of the Kim to the valley of the Vari, and a southern part
stretching twenty miles east along the Tapti from the Vari to the
Dudan. Standing out from the valley of the Kim, in small detached
hills and with slopes gentle enough for carts, the western hills rise
about 800 feet in a tame unbroken line, whose broad flat top
slopes slowly to the Mohan valley. The southern range, stretching
with gently waving outline from the Vari to the Dudan, is, near the
middle, cut through by the Aj an river. Prom the south its slopes,
passable by carts almost to the top, rise about 1200 feet ending in
a thickly wooded plateau but little higher than the northern
Nanchhal uplands. The lines and blocks of hills that in the east,
except in the valley of the Dudan in the extreme south-east, stretch
from the Narbada to the Tapti, are highest to the north of Sagbara,
where peaks and rugged ridges rise far above the level of the other
Rajpipla hills.

The climate, though unhealthy, is pleasant, cold and bracing in the
winter months, and with cool nights even in the hot season. Of the
climate in 1821 Mr. Willoughby wrote : It is very unhealthy and
specially fatal to strangers. The unhealthiness is due chiefly to
the water, tainted and in some cases poisoned, by the malarious
tracts through which the streams pass. Every thing boiled in the
Ratanpur water becomes a nasty, dirty yellow, uneatable, except to
the very hungry. The unhealthiness of the climate is shewn in
the meagre sallowness of the people and the dropsical look of
strangers.! Of his experience while surveying, in the four

ChaptCT^XIII.

States.

Ba'jfifla.

Hills.

Climate.

' Bom. Gov. Scl. XXIII. 268.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ka'jpipla.

Climate,

Trees,

Population.

seasons ending 1855, Mr. PoUexfen has left the following details. In
the first year about a month in December and January was passed
without bad results either to myself or my establishment. Next
year beginning work in the same place on the 1st December, by
the 13th, myself, twenty-two of my establishment, and three-fourths
of my servants, in spite of free use of quinine were so fever-
stricken, that, we had to return to Broach. Two men died, and few
shook ofi the fever for a year. Next season in forest parts work
was not begun till February. And from then up to the middle of
May, there was not a single case of fever. In the next year, though
care was again taken not to begin till February, and though the
people of the district seemed free from the disease, of seventy-five
souls in my camp not ten escaped fever. In Mr. Pollexfen's
opinion the district varied much in unhealthiness, Sagbara and the
banks of the Tapti being much more feverish than the north. The
chief source of disease seemed to be the water charged with
vegetable matter gathered in passing through the thick close
forests and brushwood. Though clear while flowing, if allowed to
stand, a thick oily scum rose to the top. Even the natives disliked
drinking it, unless it had filtered through a bed of sand. During
the years of suirvey small-pox and cholera were committing fearful
ravages among the people.

Except in the rich western lands the whole of Eajpipla is covered
with trees. The northern forests though full of teak, blackwood,
and kher, are so damaged by yearly fires and are in so difiicult a
country, that, except near the Narbada, their timber is in little
demand. In the central uplands good trees are rare. But in the
south, especially in Sagbara, there are valuable teak forests, whose
timber is in great demand among the traders of Surat, Anklesvar,
and Broach.

A census taken between 1853 and 1855 showed a total population of
108,812 souls. For census purposes the state was divided into three
parts, the rich villages in the north, the poorer open lands in the
west, and the wild central hill tracts. The seven rich sub-divisions
bordering on the Narbada, with an area of 284*3 square miles, had,
including the town of Nandod with 9500 inhabitants, an estimated
population of 78,771 souls or 277-3 to the square mile. The open
western districts of Ratanpur and Luna, with an area of 172 square
miles, had a population of 10,920 souls or 63-4 to the square mile.
The hilly tracts with an area of about 1360 miles had, as nearly as
could be ascertained, a population of 19,121 souls or on an average
14 to the square mile.^ The 1872 census showed a total population
of 120,036 souls or 79-26 to the square mile, an increase in
seventeen years of 11,224 souls or 10-31 per cent. Of the
whole number 114,625 or 95-49 percent were Hindus; 5257 or
4-38 per cent Musalmans; and 147 or 0-12 per cent Parsis.
There were five Christians. Of the Hindus, 4360 were classed as

> Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 319.

Oujarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

Br^hmansj 5803 as Kshatris, Rajputs; 2732 as Vaishas, traders
and mercliants ; 30,145 as ShudraSj cultivators, craftsmen, labourers,
and depressed classes ; and 71,585 as unsettled classes including
62,163 Bhils, 9261 DMnkas, 41 Naikdas, 1 Valvi, and 119
Chodhras. Of 114,625 Hindus, 15,974 were Vaishnavs, 2261 of
them Virvaishnavs, 11,208 Eamanujas, 855 Svamin^r^yans, and
1650 Kabirpantliis ; 8594 were Sbaivs ; 107 Sliravaks ; 373 Ascetics ;
and 89,577 goddess worsldppers belonging to no special sect.
Of the 5257 Musalmans, 5081 were Sunnis, 163 of them Syeds,
548 Shaikhs, 464 Pathans, 8 Moghals, 2 Memans, 151 Bohorfe, 44
Afghans, 151 Arabs, 129 Baluchis, 63 Makranis, and 3358 others.
There were 176 Shias all of them Bohoras. Of the Par sis 104 were
Shahansh^ is and 43 Kadmis. The five Christians were Roman
Catholics. Therewere 591 villages or one village to about everytwo
square miles. Of these 435 had less than 200 inhabitants ; 104 from
200 to 500; 37 from 500 to 1000 ; 12 from 1000 to 2000 ; 2 from 2000
to 3000 ; and one, the town of Nandod, had about 9500 inhabitants.^

In the rich alluvial soil in the north and north-west and in
favoured patches in the west, tuver, castor-oil, millet both bdjri and
juvdr, cotton, gram, sugarcane, rice, and to a smaller extent
hemp, wheat, and tobacco are grown. Among the hills and forests
where Bhils are the only husbandmen, the chief crops are tuver,
coarse rice, kodra, hanti, and bdvta. The four last, in grain almost
as small as mustard seed, are the BhiFs chief diet, though unless
three or four times washed the kodra is slightly poisonous, causing
giddiness and faintness. Few condiments or vegetables are
grown and most of the tobacco and molasses is imported. Except
that there is almost no irrigation the style of tillage in the rich
western districts is much the same as in central Gujarat. Almost
all the hill crops are grown in chance forest clearings. On these the

Chapter^XIII.
States.

Ra'jpipla.

Soil and
Cropa.

' Including the town of N"4ndod, there were, in 1855, 550 Rdjpipla villages. Of these
four, Avidha with 735 houses, P^netha with 600, Bh^lod with 500, aud Jhaghadia with
300, were places of some size, and in the rich Narbada districts there were from fifteen to
twenty large villages. The rest were Bhil hamlets of rarely more than twenty huts,
clustered together in the plains but in the hills spread over an area of three or four
square miles. There were 23,956 houses and 22,245 enclosures, giving an average of
19'4:6 houses and 18 '70 enclosures, to the square mile, and an average population of
5 '01 persons to each house, and 5 'SO to each enclosure. Of the houses 1711 inhabited
by 8194 persons were of the better, and 22,245 with 111,842 inhabitants of the poorer
sort. In 1855, in the richer sub-divisions along the Narbada, the people were chiefly
Kanbis, Kolis, Kajputs, and VdniAs with only a few Bhils. In the open western
districts of Ratanpur and Luna about half the villages had a mixed population of
Kanbis, KoUs, Rajputs and Bohords; the other half were Bhil villages. The population
of the hilly tracts was entirely Bhil. The people of the richer Narbada villages
differed little from those of other parts of central Gujarat. The Bhils of the hill tracts
were of middle size, clean limbed, and muscular, wonderfully active and very clever
woodcutters. They were quiet and harmless, patient and easily managed. ' I had
'always thought of a Bhil,' says Mr. PoUexfen, 'as a lawless marauder, but I have
' found them very different. Nothing was ever stolen from my camp, and, in some

• cases, things left behind were found and returned. Their only vice is their fondness

• for liquor. Their religion is a religion of fear. Nearly every hamlet has some hill
' dedicated to its special god, who is duly propitiated with offerings. An epidemio
' is thought to show that the god is angry and to please him, the village site is
' generally changed. Their marriages cost them large sums plunging them in debt to
' money-lenders and liquor-sellers. The Dhtokds found chiefly in the Gora sub-division
' on the Narbada in the north-east seem to be closely allied to the Ndikdda.'

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

Roads.

Trade.

timber is cut and burnt, and the soil, enriched with the ashes and
loosened with a pick-axe, yields crops for two years and is then left
for some fresh clearing.

From Nandod, the capital of the state, a road crossing the
Narbada at Chanod, passes north to Broach; a second very
difficult, scarcely passable to carts, but much used by Vanjaras and
probably leading to Mandlesar, passes east to Sulpan ; a third made
about 1850, the only cart-road through the northern hills, runs south
to join the Khandesh route, and a fourth goes west to Broach. In the
south are several lines of traffic, unmade cross country cart tracts
from Broach, Anklesvar, Surat, Bodhan, and Mandvi centering at
Chitaldar about thirty miles north-east of Mandvi^ and then passing
east to Kukarmunda eighty-nine miles from Broach and beyond
that into Klandesh. Besides these through routes, near the Tapti,
timber tracks run into the heart of the hills, used by carts though
very steep, narrow and difficult.

Along the maiu route by Kukarmunda passes a heavy through
traffic between Gujarat and Khandesh. The carriers and traders
are Vanjaras and Charans. The Vanjaras bring Khandesh grain
chiefly wheat, and take tobacco and salt, and as they pass do a little
business with the Bhils. Along the same route Charans pass from
Kathiawar to Klandesh with Cutch alum and Kathiawar red earth used
in dyeing. They take bullocks with them for sale and occasionally
do some trading with the Eajpipla Bhils.^ Of local traffic there
are two chief branches, a field produce trade from the rich Narbada
districts, and a timber trade from the hilly tracts in the south and
east. In the north rice and pulse, tuver, are sent in considerable
quantities to Broach and wheat is brought back. Sdmh ar hiAea
raw and cured, hemp raw woven and made into tape for cots, pati,
and turmeric, are exported ; and in their stead longcloth, cMntz,
iron, blankets, sugar, spices and salt are brought back. The trade
of these rich northern districts is chiefly in the hands of Nandod
Vanias. These men, once revenue contractors, ijdrddrs, and owning
considerable capital, have the cultivators, especially the Bhils, very
much in their power. Their money and grain advances are, at
harvest time, paid back either in coin or kind with very heavy
interest leaving the Bhil nearly destitute. To them also the Kanbis
dispose of their grain getting money to pay their rents. Another
set of traders are travelling pedlars who early in the fair season
come in numbers to the hill districts, bartering with the Bhils,
taking rice and pulse and giving cloth, tobacco, molasses, salt, and
salt fish. A third set are the liquor-sellers almost all Anklesvar
Parsis, who giving liquor and advancing money for rents get large
quantities of grain and butter. But the chief trade of the district
is in timber especially in teak from the Sagbara and other southern
forests. About November, traders come in great numbers. Bringing
carts from Broach, Surat, and Anklesvar, and staying in the forests
till June, they hire Bhils to fell and strip trees and load them into

» Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 318.

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

carts. On tlie spot the price of a ready filled cart-load of two to six
logs varies from 3s. to 4s. (Rs. H - 2), the traders having to pay-
in tolls a further sum of 6s. to 8s. (Rs. 3 - 4) a cart-load.^ Besides
heavy timber, teak rafters and bamboos at 100 for 2s. (Re. 1) are
exported in immense quantities. The profits on the timber trade
are very great. In Surat and other centres, bamboos sell at ten
times the price paid for them in the Rajpipla forests.

Iron of good quality used to be made at Pardvania near Ratanpur.
In 1855, though the manufacture had for many years been given up,
Nandod had still a good name for its knives and swords. In the
richer districts the Dheds wove coarse cloth both cotton and linen,
and tape for cots, pdti. At Dumkhal in the east some of the Bhils
make catechu, hatha, the thickened kher tree juice that is eaten
with betel-leaves, and others in the richer parts earn a little by
plaiting baskets and bamboo matting. On the whole the Rajpipla
manufactures are of the rudest and cheapest.

For administrative purposes the lands of the state are distributed
over seven sub-divisions, pargands, Rajpipla, Nandod, Panetha,
Bhalod, Jhaghadia, Rupnagar, and Thava, each under a commandant,
thdndd/r, with considerable revenue, police, and magisterial powers.

The seven sub-divisions of the Rajpipla state may be brought
under four groups. Four along the Narbada, on the whole rich
and well-to-do ; one in the west open and rather barren ; one in the
south a rough wooded upland ; and one including the hilly tracts and
the half independent sub-divisions of Sagb^ra on the south-east
and of Vadi on the south-west. The four Narbada sub-divisions
are, beginning with the east; Nandod, Panetha, Bhalod, and
Jhaghadia. Except a small rugged tract on the right bank of the river,
Nandod, lying between the hills and the Narbada and watered by
the Karjan and other small streams, is the largest and best sub-division
in the state. Besides the town of Nandod it has 125 villages, some
of them as Mangrol, Poicha, Shera, Jior, Vavri, Sisodra, Oli, Varkhad,
Patna, Rundh, Narkhari, and Navagam, are large and flourishing ;
others, especially the old petty division of Gardeshvar in the east, are
little more than Bhil hamlets. Hilly and covered with forests in the
east, the centre is rich and well tilled, and the west, formerly known
as the Kanthal sub-division, is covered with palmyra trees and much
broken by the beds of torrents. West of Nandod, Panetha with
forty^six villages is, like Nandod, large and flourishing. The soil is
rich, yielding crops of tobacco, cotton, maize, and millet. Among its
large well-to-do villages the chief are Panetha, Indor, Velugam,
Navra, and Umarva. The other two sub-divisions, Bhalod with
twenty, and Jhaghadia with eighty-one villages, stretch from the
rich Narbada bank to broken and forest-covered land. Rupnagar,
with twenty villages, formerly the Luna sub -division, stretching

ChapterXIII.

States.
Ra'jhpla.

Manufactures,

Administration,
1878.

Sub-divisiona,

' There were (1855) chiefly on the main SAgbdra road twelve tolls, eleven chief
tolls, jakdt, charging from Is, 6d. to 2s. (12 as. - Re, 1) a cart, and the twelfth a bar,
ndka, charging 10. {anna 1). Payment at one toll carried the cart through the
sub-division. But each sub-division had ts own toll. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 316.
B 561—13

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ea'jpipla.

Sub-diyisions.

Vadi.

west into the open and flat Broach plain, passes in the east
into broken and forest-coTered tracts half way between the rich
Narbada districts and the wild country to the east and south.
East of Jhaghadia and Eupnagar come the Thava Panch Mahals,
Netrang, Eundha, Thava, B^rg^ma, and Kukarda, most of them
covered with low detached lulls. Netrang with forty-eight
villages, stretching from Kanthal on the north to the Kim on the
south, is in the north hilly and in other parts flat and covered with
thick forests. The villages are nothing but small hamlets of Bhil
huts with patches of tillage near them. Eundha with twenty-eight
villages is almost all taken up by a chain of hills sloping gently to
the west and ending in a broad table land. Except a few fields
fringing each small Bhil hamlet, most of the country is covered
with forest and brushwood. Thava with thirty villages has many
small hills. Near the Karjan it is fairly well tilled but does not
yield half what it would if properly peopled. Thava, in the time
of Akbar, the chief town of the sub-division, and from its ruins
evidently once a place of some consequence, is now entirely deserted.
Bargama to the south-east, with twenty-one villages, is almost
entirely covered with low hills that slope north to the Karjan.
Except near villages the whole is thick forest. Kukarda to the east
with sixteen villages is, except in the east, flat and covered with
trees. Tillage is only in patches round the little hamlets. The
five ' Hill Districts ' Gajargota with thirty-one villages, ESjbara
with eighteen, Dumkhal with twelve, and in the south Navagam with
seven, and Morjari with twenty are all in the north group of hills.
The country is throughout wild and inaccessible, a mass of hills
and forest with a few scattered Bhil huts. The thdnddr of these
districts is stationed at Eajpipla. There remain two half-independent
Bhil estates Sagb&"a in the south-east, and Vadi in the south-west.
Sagbara with about twenty villages, about seventeen miles long and
eight broad, the only part of the Eewa Kantha that passes as far
south as the Tapti, is under the sway of a Bhil chief Damji Vasava.
Like Sagbara several other small Bhil estates such as Kathi,
Bhodaval, Govali, and Chikhli were originally under Eajpipla.
But during the time of the Gaikwar's oppression (1786) they would
seem to have freed themselves, and in 1817, when British authority
was established in Khandesh, they claimed and received protection
from the Khandesh political ofiicers.^ In settling Eajpipla in 1822
Mr. Willoughby established an outpost at Sagbara. But from
the chiefs influence over the Bhil population, Eajpipla authority
has never been more than nominal. The people, almost all Bhils,
live chiefly by wood-cutting. Sagbara, the chiefs head-quarters, is
only a small village of a few grass huts lying under a hill 600 feet
high. Vadi, in the south-west corner of Eajpipla, is a small estate
of seven Bhil hamlets, the people almost entirely supported by
gathering and selling forest produce. It is at present under direct
management and in 1878-79 yielded a revenue of about £453
(Es. 4530).

' How much further east RAjpipla limits formerly stretched appears from
Mr. Willoughby's statement (1821) that the eastern limit was 50 miles (33 kos) beyond,
NAndod. The limit is now only 20 miles (13 kos).

Gojardt.]

EEWA KlNTHA.

Of ancient Rajpipla history no details have beBn obtained, and
except tliat Eatanpur may be Ptolemy's' mountain of agates, none
of its settlements sKow traces of any great age.^ Of its two
divisions tlie plain and the hill tracts, it seems probable that the
rich lands along the Narbada and the open western districts were
included in the domains of the Anhilvada kings, and at the close
of the thirteenth century were overrun^ by Ala-ud-din Khilji's
generals (1295 -13^1 5). At that time, as appears from an inscription
on the image of Eikhavdev in the village of Limodra,. the chiefs
were Eajputs.* Early in the fourteenth century the ruling chief is
said to Iraive given his daughter in marriage tO' Mokhdaji Gohil,'*
the lord of Piram in the Cambay Grulf. In 1347, on the fall of
Piram and death of Mokhdaji, his son Samarsi retired to Bhagva
in the Olpad sub-division of Surat, and, according to the' common
story, on the death of his maternal grandfather succeeded to the
chiefship of Eajpipla.^ During the rest of the fourteenth century
the Eajpipla chief was left unmolested.

The establishment (1390) of a strong Musalmanr dynasty in Gujarat
put an end to this- independence. Defeated and humbled by Sultan
Muhammad I. in 1403, and in 141 6 foiled in a scheme of revolt,^ he wasj
in 1431, attacked by Sultan Ahmad, andhis town of Nandod'' destroyed.
Driven from his lands the- chief Harising- is said to have' remained
twelve years an outlaw, and then to have been restored to his
rights.* During the next 160 years the Eajpipla chief is seldom
mentioned' and would seem to have held a very independent
position, serving the state with 3000 horse and 1000 foot,^" but
paying no tribute. At the- same tim-e this independent territory

Chapter ZIII.

States.
Ra'jpipla.

History.
Marly Hindu.

Musalmdn
Ascendancy,
1390-1720.

' The account given in Arrian's Periplus (about a.d. 247) of the trade routes from'
Broach to Paithan, Plithdma, and J-annar, Tagara, in the- Decoau; mentions that
the way passes through a great space of -wild and desert country, and large mountains
in -which, are leopards, tigers, elephants, vast serpents, hyaenas, and baboons..
Vincent's Commerce of the Ancients, II. 411. It seems possible as so many of
Ptolemy's names are places of pilgrimage that th« Sarban (Map X. ) on the Mahi just
as it leaves the hills, is Sarban on the Narbada.

^ Mr. WiUoughby (1821) states that in 1296 an army -was several times sent
against Rijpipla, but the Kija. being po-w-erful in. troops and money it did not prevail
against him. They ho-wever obtained a footing at NAndod, built a mosque, caused the
hutba to be read and coined money. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 264. This does not
agree -withthe account given by Musalmdn historians, according to whomthe R4ja.
of RAjpipla remained independent till the time of Sultin Mnhanmiad I. (1403)1
Watson's History, 30.

3 According-to the local story they -were Parmdrs of the house of Ujain, Bom.Gov.SeL
XXin. 263.

* According to Tod the Gohils first settled at Juna Khedgad on/ the Luna river,
about ten miles from BhAlotra in Mirwdr; They took it from Khervo, its Bhil chief;,
and after holding it for about t-wenty generations -were expelled by the Rithods, at
the end of the 12th century. RijasthAn, I. 104.

•5 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 264. According to the Rdjpipla chiefs' genealogical tree;
the chiefs stayed at Bhagva during t-w-Q generations and' extended their sway over
Olpid and Anklesvar. But this tree was only lately (about 1850) drawn up, and is
said not to be a trustworthy guide; Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 322;

6 Watson's History,, SI. '' Briggs' Ferishta^ IV. 36.

8 B4sM41a, 264-267.

' The only references that have beeit traced are homage- paid to Sultin BahAdur
(1526-1536) when hunting nearN4ndod, and in the disorders that (1546) followed
Sultan Muhammad II. 's attempt to complete its conquest.

10 Bird's Mir4t-i-Ahmadi, 126.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

100

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States,:

Ra'jpipla.

History.

1390-17S0.

seems to have been confined to the wilder and more hilly parts of
Rdjpipla and western Khandesh^ Nandod, probably including districts
along both sides of the Narbada and south to near the Tapti, being
one of the twenty-five districts among which the dominions of the
Ahmedabad kings were divided.^ This arrangement continued
after the transfer of Gujarat to the Moghal Emperors. In 1590,
according to the Ain-i-Akbari 'Nadaut' with twelve sub-divisions/
some to the south and others to the north of the Narbada, was a
regular part of the Imperial domain, showing under Todar Mai's
survey an area of 270,908 acres (5,41,817 bighds), and yielding a
yearly revenue of £21,994 (87,97,596 dams). Separate from Nadaut
was the Rajpipla state, a hilly country, seventy-five miles by fifty-five,
(50 kos by 40) and therefore stretching far into western Khdndesh,
entirely under the management of a Brahman. The chief whose
power was only nominal, was a Gohil who lived sometimes in
Rajpipla and sometimes in Ghulva,^ a place of bad water but rich
in honey and rice.* The chief had 3000 cavalry and 7000 infantry.
It does not seem clear what terms Akbar made with the Rajpipla
chief.^ Neither at the first (1572) nor at the second (1573) settle-
ment is he mentioned. But in 1676 troops had to be stationed at
Nandodto keep him in order^andin the following years (1583-1592)
by three times giving a hiding place to the rebel prince, Muzafiar,
the Rajpipla chief must have incurred the Emperor's severe
displeasure.'' According to one account Akbar changed the
condition of service into a tribute of £3555 12s. (Rs. 35^556).^ But
this seems doubtful both from what is stated in the Ain-i-Akbari
and from the fact that in 1609 when a post was established at
Ranmagar, the Rajpipla chief furnished a contingent of 1000 men.'

' Bird's Mir4t-i-Ahmadi, 111. One reason why EAjpipla and its chief are so seldom
mentioned in Ahmedabad histories may be that they are spoken of under the name of
KAja of PAl (Watson, 54, note 1). Pdl, probably derived from pdlo, leaves, and so
meaning forest lands, seems to be used pretty generally for the wild hill and forest
tracts of eastern Gujard^, and in this RAjpipla may sometimes be included. But
the territory of the chief, oftenest mentioned as the R4ja of PAl, seems to have been
much further north (Watson, 47 - 49 ; Bird, 285 and note) and was probably either BAriya,
which is stiU known as BAriya P^l, (Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 151), or some tract
near it. According to the Ain-i-Akbari (Gladwin, II. 72), Pil was a territory between
Dungarpur and BAnsvada near Meran and Mangrich through which the MaM ran.

^ The sub-divisions were, according to Gladwin (11. 239), Amroli, Avdha, Besroy,
Badal, Tilkovareh, Tehva, Jemugim, Kyar, Murghedereh, Manden, Nddaut and
Nutrung. Of these Amroli is probably the place of {he same name in the Sankheda
MehvAs ; Avdha seems to be Avidha or Arudah, also called Varita (Bom. Gov. Sel.
XXIII. 265), another name for BhAlod in the north-west near the Narbada, mentioned
(1855) as having a mosque and outpost. (Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 296) ; Besroy
has not been traced ; Eedal is perhaps BudAval (Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 296) ;
Tilkovareh is Talakvdda on the Narbada ; Tevha is Thava, one of the southern
sub-divisions, ' the town deserted but with ruins' ; JemugAm is Jimbug4m, another
name for Luna in the west (Bom. Gov. Sel. XXm. 296). Neither Kyar nor Murghe-
dhere has been identified; M4nden is perhaps Mindal in VasrAv ; Nadaut is NAndod ;
and Nutrung is Netrang in the south of Ratanpur.

^ Ghulva is probably GovAli near SAgbira on the high road to KhAndesh, not the
GovAli in the west on tlie Narbada. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 325.

* Gladwin's Ain-i-Akbari, II. 73.

' At the time of Akbar's settlement Jayasing was the chief of EAjpipIa. RAs MAla, 299.

6 Bird's Mir4t-i-Ahmadi, 343.

' Bird's Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 353-375 ; Bloehmann, 335 ; Watson, 64, 65.

8 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 265. » Watson's History, 68.

Gnjardtl

REWA KANTHA.

101

During tlie rest of tlie seventeentli century, either by service or
by tbe occasional payment of tribute, tbe chief continued to
acknowledge his dependence.

As late as 1715 mention is made of the grant of the district of
Nandod to Haidar Kuli Khan.^ Between this date and 1754 the
Rajpipla chief seems to have recovered from the Moghals almost
the whole of the Nandod district. In this attempt to increase his
power he found a dangerous rival in Pilaji G-aikwar, who, in 1723,
from his castle at Songad, overran south Gujarat and built several
forts within Rajpipla limits.^ Later on, in 1763, the Peshwa
allowed Damaji G-aikwar, whose share of Gujarat yielded less than
had been expected, to add to his revenues by annexing small Rajput
estates and by levying tribute on the larger chiefs. With this
object he advanced against Rajpipla whose chief Raisiag was only
a boy of seven, and forced him to give up one-half of the four rich
sub-divisions, of Nandod, Bhalod, Variti, and Govali. Shortly
aft^r, Damaji, on receiving the chief's niece in marriage, agreed,
instead of a share in the four sub -divisions, to take a yearly money
payment of £4000 (Rs. 40,000), keeping at the same time three or
four villages near the Narbada and building a mud fort in each
of the four sub -divisions.^ Matters remained on this footing till,
in 1781, Raising's minister intriguing with the Baroda Court,
Fatehsing Gaikwar with an armed force advanced to Nandod and
raised the tribute to £4900 (Rs. 49,000). In spite of these
exactions Rajpipla was at this time prosperous. With moderate
land rates and cesses the average yearly revenue was £34,558
(Rs. 3,45,580) .* A strong chain of posts with an average strength
of about 50 horse and 230 foot kept order over the whole country.
Of the posts one of the chief was at Sagbara to protect the
Khandesh trade route, along which passed so considerable a traffic
that the dues yielded a yearly revenue of from £4000 to £5000
(Rs. 40,000 -50,000) .5

In 1786 Raising was succeeded by his brother Ajabsing an
imbecile prince, whose feeble rule of over seventeen years (1786-1803)
was most disastrous to Rajpipla. Taking advantage of Ajabsing's
weakness the Gaikwar, on Raising's death (1786), raised the tribute
to £1500 (Rs. 15,000) to be paid every second year, and again in 1793
increased the amount to £7800 (Rs. 78,000) . At the same time Umed
Vasava, the Bhil chief of Sagbara revolted, and with the aid of a
large body of Arab and Sindian mercenaries® held five of the hill
districts, and stopping all traffic along the Khandesh route reduced
Rajpipla revenues from about £34,558 to £25,940, Quarrelling with
his father, Ramsing the son of Ajabsing retired to the petty state
of Mandva to the north of the Narbada. Helped by the chief Jie
raised some troops and attacked Rajpipla, but was defeated and
forced to fly to Mandva. Here he married the chief's daughter,

Chapter XIII.
States.

RA'jPrPLA.

History.

MardtJia
Interference,
17^0- 1820,

> Watson's History, 91.
2 Watson's History, 97.
» Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 265.

« Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 280.
= Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 723.
« Bom. Gov. SbI. XXIU. 281, 273.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

102

STATES.

Chapter^XIII.

States.

Ka'jpipla.

Histoiy,

BrUiek Supervimn,

and afterwards returning to Rajpipla on a promise of pardon, was
seized and imprisoned, and JSTarsing his younger brother was
named as the heir. On Ajabsing's death in 1 803, the troops, refusing
to accept the younger brother, raised Ramsing to the chiefship. On
succeeding to power Eamsing gave himself up to debauchery, and,
seldom free from the effects of intoxicating drugs, left to his
minister the whole management of the state. Taking advantage of
his weakness the G-aikwar in 1805 sent a force to Rajpipla, extorted
a succession fee, nazardna, of £15,000 (Rs. 1,50,000), and raised the
tribute to £9600 (Rs. 96,000), adding shortly afterwards a further
yearly demand of £400 (Rs. 4000). In 1810 the Gaikwar, with the
consent of the British Government, deposed Ramsing, choosing as
his successor Pratapsing, Ramsing's supposed child by the Mandva
chiefs daughter.^ This succession Narsing, Ramsing's brother,
refused to accept, declaring that Pratapsing was not Ramsing's
son, but was the child of a poor Mandva Rajput, passed off as her
son by Ramsing's wife. In the same year (1810) Ramsing died,
and Narsing began to plunder the country. Disorder continued
tin, in 1813, a six months' truce was followed by the despatch to
Rajpipla of a large Gaikwar force and the conclusion of an
agreement, under which, leaving the management of the state in the
Gaikwar's hands, Pratapsing and Parsing promised to keep the
peace for two years and then submit their claims to arbitration.

The Gaikwar, once in possession, made no haste to settle the rival
claims, and four years passed before even a preliminary inquiry was
made. For this reason and as the Gaikwar's officers had entirely
failed to establish order, the British Government determined to
take upon itself the settlement of the disputed succession. It was
at first proposed that the arbitrators should be the Raja of Chhota
Udepur and other Rewa Kantha chiefs. But as all the men of this
class were under the influence of the Gaikwar, and as the Gaikwar
was pledged to uphold Pratapsing's claim, the settlement of the
question was placed (9th June 1820) in the hands of Mr. Willoughby
the assistant resident. After very full inquiry Mr. Willoughby
decided (20th February 1821) that Pratapsing was a spurious
child and that Narsing was the rightful claimant, and this, with
Bome hesitation the Gaikwar admitted. The British Government
then assumed the management of Rajpipla, the Gaikwar handing
over all control on the same terms as he had in ] 820 given up the
supervision of the tributary states in Kathiawar and the Mahi
Kantha.^ As Narsing was blind his son Verisalji, a youth of thirteen
was appointed ruler, and on November 15th was installed by Mr.
Willoughby in the Rajpipla fort.^ In October 1821 he entered
into an engagement binding himself and his successors to act in
conformity with the advice of the British Government.*

• Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 265, 266, XCVIII. Tlie Bombay Government
agreed to guarantee this arrangement, but on account of the death of Eimsing the
guarantee was not actually affixed to the sanad.

2 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 501-503.

' Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 267, C.

* Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 267, XCIX.

Gujardt]

EBWA KANTHA.

103

The seven years of the Gaikw^r's management had been very
disastrous. The most glaring crimes went unpunished ; the hilly
tracts continued waste ; no effort had been made to open the
Sagbara line of traffic ; and the revenue, realized entirely from the
rich northern districts had, though with rates raised from 6s. to £2
and from £1 4s. to £5 an acre (Es. 3 - 20, and Es. 12-50 a
Umhha), fallen from £25,016 to £23,796 (Es. 2,50,1 60 - 2,37,960).i
The resources of the country were almost exhausted. The towns
and villages were mostly in ruins, the lands untilled, and the people
fled. Those who remained were sunk in debt, their lands mortgaged
to money-lenders. 'From every side rose the voice of misery.'^
The look-out for the next season was most gloomy. Though the
1820 collections had fallen short of £24,000 (Es. 2,40,000) ^ the
contractor had for 1821 engaged to pay a sum of £29,000
(Es. 2,90,000). Scared by the contractor's efforts to make good
this amount, many of the chief men of each Nandod village had
run away, placing large hahul branches in front of their doors, in
token that till better times came they would not return.*

The British Government interfered in Eajpipla affairs to ensure
that the Gaikwar's dues were properly paid and that order was
established. To gain these objects the British Government had to
assume entire control over the state finances, and to undertake the
task of reclaiming the wild hill tribes. The first step taken was to
obtain from the chief a written agreement (26th November 1823) to
limit his expenses j to adopt any plan proposed by the Baroda
Eesident for meeting the Gaikwar's debt and tribute demands ; to pay
any British troops that might be wantedto keep the peace in Eajpipla;
to prevent or make good losses caused by Eajpipla robbers ; to harbour
no breakers of the public peace ; to refer disputes for settlement to
the British Government ; to protect travellers j to make his people
accept the British settlement of their girds claims in the Broach
and Surat districts ; and to comply with any arrangements the
British Government might propose for the regulation of the opium
trade. ^ To fix the next year's revenue demand a return for ten
years 1796 to 1800, and 1816 to 1820, was drawn up and the
average £22,928 (Es. 2,29,280) taken.^ Of this not more than
£19,500 (Es. 1,95,000) were realized. The failure was due to a
most disastrous flood that in September 1821 swept away entire
villages from the banks of the Narbada, destroyed all the early

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

History.

Staie of the

Country,

18S0.

Settlement,
18S1.

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 280.

2 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 269. In Ratanpur of 64 villages in only 23 did any
organization remain, and in them only about Jth of the land was tilled (p. 540) ; in
Gora of 27 Government villages 11 were deserted (p. 541) ; and in the hill districts six
of the sixteen sub-divisions were entirely waste (p. 542).

' In the time of Rdising (1776-1785) with rents of from 6s. to £1 4s. an acre (Rs. 3-12
ahumbha) the revenue was as much as £35,000 to £40,000 (Rs. 3,50,000-4,00,000) ;
in 1820 the revenue was less than £24,000 (Rs. 2,40,000) though the rates had been
raised from £2 to £5 an acre (Rs. 20-50 a kumbha). Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 276.

* Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 276.

•' Mr. Willoughby, 29th March 1823. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 609-617. Aitohison's
Treaties (1876), IV, 268-270, CI.

» Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 532-587.

[Bombay Qazetteer,

104

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ea'jpxpla.

History.

Settlement,

ISU.

Odihwdr'a
Demands.

crops over an area from four to eight miles broad, carried ofE acres
of tlie best land, and ruined 'large tracts by covering tte soil
several feet deep with sand and gravel.-^ So great was the damage
that under the former systems the probable revenue for the next
year would not have been more than £10,000 (Rs. 1,00,000). Under
these circumstances it was arranged that the seven rich sub-divisions
should for seven years be leased to men of capital, who, in the hope
of large future gains, would be willing to pay for the first year
more than they actually recovered. Care was taken to choose
men of good position, to offer them every inducement to favour
immigration and bring waste lands under tillage, and, by keeping
the police in the chief's hands and making the contractor engage
not to levy more than customary rates, to save the cultivators from
ill usage .^

A sufficient revenue secured, it was decided (20th February 1823)
to fix the G-aikwar's tribute at a yearly sum of £5672 (Baroda
Rs. 65,000) .* To settle the Gaikwar's debt was a much harder task.
The amount originally claimed, no less than £217,624 12s.
(Rs. 21,76,246), proved on examination to include upwards of twenty-
four per cent interest and an unjust item of £30,000 (Rs. 3,00,000).
With very little demur the Gaikwar lowered his claim to £92,002
(Rs. 9,20,020). Even then there were many unjust and overcharged
items, and, as it was hopeless to expect the Rajpipla state to pay such
a sum, the Gaikwar agreed, on condition that as much as possible
should be paid in ready money and the rest in yearly instalments, to
reduce the whole claim to £80,000 (Rs. 8,00,000). Of the £80,000 a
sum of £14,033 (Rs. 1,40,330) was disputed by the chief who asserted
that the Gaikwar's managers had recovered it when Rajpipla was
in their hands. The whole admitted debt was thus reduced to
about £65,967 (Rs. 6,59,670). Of this in the first year by borrowing
£24,402 (Rs. 2,44,020) ^ the sum of £40,569 (Rs. 4,05,690) was paid,
leaving £25,398 (Rs. 2,53,980) outstanding. It was estimated that
in the next six years the new loan would be discharged and a surplus
remain to clear off the rest of the Gaikwar debt.^ Of the £14,033
in dispute between the Rajpipla chief and the Gaikwar it was after-
wards settled that one-half should be admitted. In 1825 all claims
were finally adjusted and it was arranged that the balance due to the
Gaikwar should be paid in the eight years ending 1833-34.

1 Assistant in charge to Government, 3rd July 1823. Bom. Gov. Sel.XXHI. 587,588.
Details are given in a letter to Government dated 30th November 1822,

2 Mr. Willoughby to Govenunent, 20th Feb. 1823, and other correspondence ending
with Government letter, 15th March 1823. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 587-605.

3 Of the installation Mr. Willoughby gives these details. After a few religioug
ceremonies two KotUh Bhils, supposed to. be the descendants of former rulers,
repeating a blessing and performing the rite of chdndla, or brow marking, took the
young chief in their arms and, stepping on a platform about three feet high, seated
him on the state cushion amidst acclamations and distributions of sugar. Letter of
19th Nov. 1821. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 507.

* Of £24,402, £22,500 were, under British guarantee, raised from Baroda bankers,
and £1902 were borrowed from the Edjpipla state banker, potddr. Bom. Gov. SeL
XXin. 623.

» Mr. WiUoughby to Government, 21st June 1823. Bom. Gov. Sel, XXIII,

621-628.

Gnjarit.]

EEWA KANTHA.

105

The second great object of British interference Was by some
conciliatory settlement to change the disorderly Bhils into peaceable
and industrious subjects.^ Mr. WUloughby's inquiries showed that
in Raising's time (1763 - 1785) before disorder had spread^ the Bhils
were kept quiet by the establishment all over their districts of strong
military posts. Misbehaviour on the part of the Bhils was always
severely punished. If a whole village was in fault it was generally
attacked and burnt to the ground^ and its people of both sexes and
every age put to the sword. For Bhils guilty of treason or other
heinous crimes the punishment was death by impaling^ by burning
over a slow fire, by blowing from a gun, and by beheading. Lighter
offences were punished by maiming, floggingj imprisonment, or
fine. Suspected persons generally confessed choosing punishment
rather than face a trial by ordeal. Some of the more powerful Bhil
chiefs, on condition of service, held their villages free from any
payment, except a small house tax. Again the head^ vasdvaj of a
Bhil village, on condition of feeding Government officers when on
duty^ held under the name of valtar, as much rent-free land as his
household could till. The village head had also the right to levy
a small cessj kunti, on every merchant halting for a night in his
village.^

In 1821 Mr. Willoughby's inquiries into the state of the Bhil^
led him to divide them into two classes, the quiet Bhil of the plain
and the unruly hill Bhil. Quiet Shils were found in G-ora>
Gardeshvar, and Kanthal in the north-east; in Eatanpur and
Jhabugam in the west, and in parts of the southern sub -divisions ^
They were orderly and obedient husbandmen, paying rents either
by a bullock or field tool cess.* In districts held by Bhils of this
class it would, in Mr. Willoughby's opinion, be enough to see that
their rights were respected and that they were in no way oppressed j
that posts were established strong enough promptly to put down
disturbance ; that over the whole district, each settlement should^
for its good behaviour, furnish the security of its two neighbouring
villages; and that the chief Bhil of the sub -division should stand
surety for all the villages under him.* The hill Bhils could be
managed only by strong military posts at Sagbara, Rhocha, and
Rajpipla. The districts were too thinly peopled and the Bhils too
unruly to be able to give any useful security.*

Besides general measures for quieting the Bhils, special steps
had to be taken to bring to order certain chiefs who were either in
open revolt or who claimed a half independence. Of these the
most important were Kuvar Vasava of Sagbara in the south-east.

Chapter^XIII.

States.

Ea'jpipla'.

History.

Unruly Bhil$,

Dependent
Chiefs.

1 Resident of Baroda, 28th October 1821. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 701.

2 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 726,727.

' The rates for every pair of bullocks varied from 16s. to £1 12s. (Rs. 8-16), taken
half in money, half in rice ; the rates on tools were for a hatchet, kuhvddi, 5s.
(Rs.2i); for a pickaxe, koddli, 5s. (Rs. 2J), and 2s. id. (Rs. 1-2-8) on a sickle, ddtardi.
Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 743,744.

* Bom. Gov. Sel. XXm, 728, =Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 730.

B 561—14

[Bombay Gazetteer,

106

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

History.

Chiefs.

Raising of Rhoclia in the south-west, and Baji Daima of Talakvada
to the north of the Narbada. On the 26th January 1822 Kuvar
Vasava came and presented himself at Mr. Willoughhy's camp.
This man, about twenty-six years of age, above the common order
of his tribe, and able to write a tolerable hand,^ was the son of
the Umed Vasava mentioned above, who, during the rule of Ajabsing
(1786-1803), going into rebellion, raised a large force of Sindian
and other mercenaries, and, till he was assassinated, kept his hold
over five of the hill districts. Before giving himself up in 1822
Kuvar Vasava had for some time been quiet, but he was believed
to be planning fresh raids, and had still about eighty men under
him, half of them Bhils and the rest Sindians and Arabs.^ On
a promise of pardon and of a settlement of his claims, Kuvar
agreed to live quietly in Sagbara as a Eajpipla subject; to pay
customary dues ; to obey the orders of the Government command-
ants; to give up lands to which he had no right; to refer
disputes and claims to the settlement of Government; to be
responsible for robberies in which he was proved to have had a
share; to seize or give information of any bad characters that
might hide in his territories ; and to entertain no foreign troops.
On Kuvar's completing this agreement, it was arranged that tka
head of his Sindi troops and twenty-five of the men should be
employed by the Eajpipla chief; that a monthly grant of £12 10s.,
(Rs. 125) should be given to Kuvar's brother, if with twelve BHls
he came and settled in Nandbd ; and that a post of forty horse and
eighty foot should be established at Sagbkra.* Of greater power,
though much less given to open disorder than the Sagbara Kuvar,
was his father-in-law Raising of Rhocha, a chief about fifty years
old, very difficult to deal with, fawning and crafty, with 'sweet water
in his mouth and black blood in his heart'. Raising who was said
to be very rich* had in his service upwards of fifty men ; and though
not in outlawry, refused for long to come to the Political Agent's camp.
At last he came in, gave up all his troops except eight, and offered
security for his good behaviour. The third chief was a Molesalam
freebooter Baji Daima who, with two other outlaws, Nasir Khan
and Umed Khan and troops of Dhankas ' a cruel and bloodthirsty
tribe ' of Bhils,® living at Talakvada on the Narbada, had, as the
price of abstaining from plunder, extorted sums of money from
many villages in the eastern Narbada districts.^

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 714. ' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXHI. 712.

3 Bora. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 712.

* Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 736. The origin of EAising'a wealth is said to have been
ia 1809 when,, on condition of giving them an asylum in one of his villages, he was
paid a large share of the plunder by Bohords who were in hiding after the disturbance
at Mindvi. He afterwards, on a promise that no inquiry should be made about
the plunder, gave up the Bohords, enriching himself, it was said, by about £10,000
(Ks. 1,00,000).

' Dhdnka would seem to be another name for Ndikda.

« Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII, 267. Gora (January 1822) was very distressed.many of ite
villages being in the entire possession of, and the whole greatly harassed by, the
TalakvidaMdivdsis (p. 541).. Inquiry afterwards showed that BAji had a claim on
some of the villages to which he had advanced money (p. 745).

Oujarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

107

In November 1823 Mr. Willougliby was sent to make a settlement
witli Baji Daima and the two other Talakvada outlaws. Helped
by the ruggedness of their country, and encouraged by former
successes against Baroda troops, these chiefs refused to surrender.
Very active steps were taken to bring them to order, the supplies
were cut off ; a Bhil chief was hired to track them ; and a reward was
offered to any one who would seize them ; at the same time they were
told through a Bhat that if they surrendered, their lives would be
spared and their claims settled. Of the three chiefs, Nasir Khan was
the first to come in (December 1823). He was followed after about
eight months (7th July 1824) by Timed Khan, and he about a month
later by Baji Daima.^ On surrendering, the chiefs agreed to behave
as peaceable subjects, to pay revenue, to accept the Government
settlement of their claims, to harbour no outlaws, to remain in
Baroda for five years, and to give security for their good behaviour.^
Two other Bhil chiefs Kuvar Jiva and Kalia Ohamar from the
Khandesh frontier are mentioned as coming in (January 1824), and
signing agreements for good behaviour.^ Between 1821 and 1827,
though the Political Agent exercised only a general supervision,
Rajpipla had much iniproved.* Order was kept and from Broach
and Baroda complaints of Rajpipla raids had ceased.* The country
was on the whole well and mildly managed, and the revenues, in
spite of one year of flood and two of drought, had, during the five
years ending 1827, risen from £15,661 to £25,948.6

For four years after 1827, British supervision was relaxed and
the management of the finances left to the chief and his minister.
The result was a drop in the revenue from £25,948 to £17,636 2s.
(Rs. 2,59,480- 1,76,361). An inquiry into the cause of this decrease
showed that large amounts had been embezzled. On this Government
had again to interfere, and letting out the districts in farm for seven
years realized an average revenue .of £22,463 6s. (Rs. 2,24,633).
At the close of this farm, the entire management of the finances was
again handed over to the chief, and again the revenue returns fell,
the average of the nine years ending 1848-49 being only £20,659
(Rs.. 2,06,590). An inquiry showed that the actual revenue was
considerably greater than that entered in the state accounts.
Pressure was put on the chief to settle the claims for which the
British Government had given its guarantee. And in 1850, when this
was done. Government finally withdrew its supervision. In 1852 an
engagement was mediated by the British Government between the
Gaikwar and the Raja of Rajpiplaj by which some old disputes were

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ba'jpipla.

History.

Order Restored,

18^-1831.

J Bom. Gov. Sol. XXIII. 771. = Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIH. 775.

» Bom. Gov. Sel XXIH. 747.

* Crimea though stiU committed were much less general and much surer of detection,
and daily over the whole district large numbers of people were flocking back. Bom.
Gov. Sel. XXIIL 730,731.

" In 1825 Mr. Eomer the Agent to the Governor in Surat complained that the
Mdndvi chief had suffered much from Rajpipla robbers. But the people who were
to blame would seem to have been the VasrAvi Bhils. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII.
780.

« The details were: 1823, £15,661; 1824, £19,915; 1825, 19,986; 1826, £24,336;
and 1827, £25,948. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 843.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

108

STATES,

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

History.

1851,

Sdghdra

yrouhUs,

1859.

settled by tlie transfer of certain villages in wliicli both governments
had shares to the Gaikwar and the Eaja respectively, and the
admission of the right of the Raja of Eajpipla to collect certain
customs on payment of £1165 (Baroda Rs. 13,351) yearly .^

A few years later at the time of survey (1852-1855), the district,
though backward, thinly peopled, and suffering from an ill-managed
system of revenue leases, was much richer and more prosperous than
fifty years before.^ Order was well established and cases of crime
were few. Most of the Bhils were quiet and well behaved.^ Nandod
had become a prosperous town of 20,000 inhabitants, with well built
high houses, a manufacture and export of great numbers of quaintly
shaped well tempered knives, and a considerable trade chiefly in
forest produce, honey, bees' wax, sdmhar hides, and bamboos.* The
hill tracts in the centre and east were still covered with thick
forest and had very few people and very little cultivation,^ and the
southern and south-western districts had still large forest tracts
broken by patches of tillage. But near the Kim the land was well
tilled, and all along the Narbada it was rich and prosperous.

About the middle of August 1857, the chief prayed the Government
to help him, stating that he had found a certain Syed Morad Ali
tampering with his troops and trying to organize a disturbance in
Nandod. On receipt of this message (August 1 7) Mr. Rogers, the
Collector of Broach, taking with him 200 men of the 1st Grenadiers
and a detachment of 50 Europeans from the 83rd Queen's, then
detained at Broach by stress of weather, started for Nandod.
Hearing of their approach Morad Ali fled, and the risk of an
outbreak was at an end. A detachment of 200 men was left at Nandod,
and till the mutinies were over Rajpipla gave no further cause for
uneasiness. On the 20th January. 1859, Government decided that
Rajpipla should pay a yearly sum of £2000 (Rs. 20,000) towards the
maintenance of this force called the Gujarat BhU Corps. This was
subsequently converted into a police corps, and as no part of it was
employed in Rajpipla, the Raja on the 1st May 1865 was freed from
any demand on its account. If however the troops are employed
in Rajpipla, the chief is liable to such contribution as Government
may think fit and reasonable.^

In 1859 Kuvar Vasava of Sagbara, who had been blind for some
years, died, leaving two sons Lashkario who had managed the estate
and a younger son Dungario. Shortly after, Damji the son of
Dungario, imprisoned his uncle Lashkario and in spite of the orders
of the chief and of the Political Agent, declared himself head of the
clan. He held his position till in 1 860 troops were sent against him

' Aitchison'g Tre3,ties (1876) IV, 270.273, CII.

2 The leaseholders had in some cases been guilty of so great an extortion that the
people had deserted their villages. In consequence of this the chief refused to
renew the leases, and, when they fell in, managed the villasea through his own
officers. Bom. Gov. Sel,XXin. 300-313. s e

3 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 320,321.

4 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII, 313, sBom. Gov. Sel. XXIII, 302,
» Aitcbison's Trea,ties (1876), IV, 253,

Gujar&t.]

RBWA KANTHA.

109

and he gave himself up to the Khiindesh Bhil Agent. After this
Lashkario formally resigned the chiefship, and the heads of the
neighbouring clans agreed in choosing Damji. The relations between
Damji and the Eajpipla chief then came under discussion. In the
end it was settled that, while admitting that the Eajpipla chief was
his superior and had the right to levy customs, Damji should have
the revenue and police management of his estate. The neighbouring
Bhil chiefs became answerable for Damji's good behaviour, and
matters have since gone smoothly. In 1860, with the permission of
Government, Verisalji abdicated and his only son Gambhirsingji, the
present ruling chief, was on the 1 7th November duly installed by
the Political Agent. Though he had nominally retired, Verisalji as
his son^s minist6r_, kept in his own hands all the power of the state.
Gambhirsingji, as he grew up, chafed against this arrangement, and
ill feeling rose to such a pitch, that in 1867 Government had to
interfere. Verisalji was forced to forego all interference in state
aiiairs and in the following year died.

On the 16th June 1871 a slight disturbance broke out in the Bhil
district of Vadi in the south-west of Eajpipla. Timed, the chief of
Vadi, some time before his death entrusted the estate to Narsai, one
of his younger sons. On Umed^s death, his eldest son Kagu claimed
the chiefship ; and as the dispute threatened to become serious and
the Eajpipla chief was unable to settle it, the Political Agent
interfered, taking the estate under his direct supervision. Shortly
after, Narsai the younger claimant, at the head of an armed force,
made, a sudden night attack on his brother's house and the
Government officer in charge. He was ultimately seized and
sentenced to a long term of imprisonment, and the estate is still
under the control of the British Government.

The following table shows the chief members of the Eajpipla
family for the last century ;

Jitsing ^

(died 1754).

1
PratApsing
(died 1764).

Raising
(died 1786).

Ajabsing

(died 1803).

Ramsing
(deposed 1810),

Naraing

(abdicated 1821),

VerisAlji
(abdicated 1860),

Gambhirsing.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ra'jpipla.

History.

Sdghdra

Troubles,

1859,

Vadi

Disturbance,

mi.

' The family bards make Jitsing the forty-flrst descendant of ShdllvShan. Their order is : Shalivdban;
Narvdhan ; Hans ; AjaypSl ; AnangpSll ; Sursen ; SomsAhel ; Premdehji ; Ch^ohak Dev ; Sonpd ;
KiiTerpil ; PrithirAj; Prat4pp41 ; DehpAl; Mokhda Gohel; ArjunsIiAyji ; Bhansinji; Gemalsingji ;
Vijaypilji; Eimsilheji ; Prithirajji; DipSji; Ka™nbil,ji; HabherAj ; Sujansingji ; Bheravsingji ;
Pi'ithirajji ; Dipsingji ; DurgsAheji ; Mohrajji ; Biiyasalji ; Chandrasen ; Gambhirsingji ; Sabherajji ;
Jaysingji; Mulrdjji; Surmalji; Udeliaranji; ChandrabSji Chatras41ji; Mota VerisSiji; and
Jitsingji,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

110

STATES.

Chhota
Udepur.

Boundaries,

Aspect.
Kvers,

Chapter XIII. The Eaja of Eajpipla is one of the chiefs who in 1862 received a
States. patent, sanad, allowing adoption. He is the only Rewa Kantha chief

with first class jurisdiction, that is with power to try for capital
offences all persons but British subjects. He is entitled to a salute
of eleven guns and to a native guard of honour of inferior strength.
The present chief, Gambhirsingji, born in 1846, is now (1879) in his
34th year. Though opposed to change he has of late years considerably
improved his police ; he has built schools, a dispensary, and a jail,
and is now spending £20,000 (Rs. 2,00,000) on a road from Nandod
34| miles to Anklesvar station.

Chhota Udepiir, in point of size the second of the Rewa
Kantha states, lies between north latitude 22° 2' and 22° 32', and
east longitude 73° 47' and 74° 20,' and has a total area of 820
square miles, a population of 62,913 souls or 76'72 to the square
mile, and, for the five years ending 1878, an average yearly revenue
of £25,000 (Es. 2,50,000).

It is bounded on the north by the Bariya state, on the east by
Ali Rajpur in Central India, on the south by the Sankheda Mehvas
estates of the Rewa Kantha, and on the west by Baroda.

The district is irregular in shape and for the most part covered
with hills and forests.

The principal rivers are the Or or Orsang, which, flowing through
the lands of Sursi, Jetpur, Jhabugam, and Raj Yasna, by the towns
of Udepur and Jhabugam, joins the Narbada between Chanod and
KamaH ; the Heran, flowing through the Panvad sub-division, and
joining the Or in the Graikwar's territory to the west of the Sankheda
Mehvas ; and the Narbada, which forms for about fifteen miles the
south-eastern boundary of the state. Besides these there are the
Bhalaj, flowing through Tejgad, and Jetpur, and joining the Or;
the Ani flowing through Tejgad; the Bamni through Panvad; the
Kara through Kavant, and the Boch through Raj Vasna.

Hills. Most of Chhota Udepur is covered with hUls. In Tejgad near

the centre along the Or valley, though rugged in outline, they are
of no great height. In the south-east a range of hills runs north-
east and south-west through Panvad, and further south towards the
Narbada, the whole of Kavant is covered with high rugged hills.
At the back of Kar^li, noticeable for miles round, a flat-topped trap
ridge stretching east and west for four miles, rises at its western
end into two sharply marked peaks. Its top, a broad table-land,
yields crops of millet and pulse. In Targol, in the north-west
about ten miles south-east of Pavagad, rises the Jhund hill, once a
favourite place of refuge for outlaws, and still, from the thickness
of its woods, most difficult of approach.

Climate. During the greater part of the year the climate is damp,

unhealthy, and feverish.

Crops. Grain, pulse, and timber, are the chief produce of the state. The

principal articles of traffic are timber and the flowers of the mahuda
tree, Bassia latifolia.

Qttjar&t.

EEWA KlNTHA.

Ill

The 1872 census showed a population of 62,913 souls, or 76" 72
to the square mile. Of the whole numbePj 61,381 or 97'56 per
cent were Hindus, 1515 or 2 "41 per cent Musalmans, and 17
Parsis. Of the Hindus 276 were classed as Brahmans ; 2407 as
Kshatris, Rajputs ; 1086 as Vaishas, traders and merchants ; 2974 as
Shudras, cultivators, craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes;
and 54,638 unsettled classes including 37,682 Kolis, 1978 Bhils,
9594 Dhankfe, 5377 Naikdas, and 7 Dumdas. Of 61,381 the total
Hindu population, six were Vir Vaishnavs, 2675 Ramanujs, 733
Vallabhacharis, and 340 Kabirpanthis ; 506 were Shaivs, 33 ascetics,
and 57,088 unsectarian Hindus. Of the Musalmans 21 were Syeds,
281 Shaikhs, 79 Pathans, 65 Bohoras, 50 Arabs, 191 Makranis, and
828 were entered as 'Others'. Of the whole number 1460 were
Sunnis and 55 Shias. Of the Parsis 13 were Shahanshais and
4 Kadmis. The number of villages was 530 or 0"64 to the square
mile; the average village population 118'70 souls. Of the whole
number, 465 villages had less than 200 inhabitants ; 57 had from
200 to 500 ; 4 from 500 to 1000 ; 3 from 1000 to 2000 ; and one,
the town of Udepur, between 2000 and 3000. There were 14,506
houses, or, an average of 17"69 houses to the square mile, and 4"33
persons to each house. Of the total number of houses, 184 inhabited
by 867 persons were of the better,and 14,322 with 62,046 inhabitants,
of the poorer, sort.

Chhota Udepur contains ten sub-divisions, pargands, Sursi or
Dor, Tejgad, Kadval, Jetpur, Jhabugam, Panvad, Kavant, Karali,
Raj Vasna, and Targol. Suesi or Doe in the extreme north-east with
thirty-three villages, formerly belonged to Ali Rajpur, but was
mortgaged, in 1807, to the Raja of Chhota Udepur for £10,584 8s.
(Rs. 1,05,844), and has ever since remained in his possession. The
Ali Rajpur chief has more than once attempted to recover the
property through the mediation of Government. But the Government
of India have settled that these villages must remain with the state
of Udepur, till the whole sum for which they were mortgaged
together with interest is paid. As interest has been running since
the beginning of the century, there is little chance that such a
payment will ever be made. The Ali Rajpur boundary has been
marked off, and Sursi is now practically part of Chhota Udepur.
Its people are almost all Bhils and Kolis, and except near the
hamlets, the country is waste and covered with forests. The chief
crops are, in the rainy season, maize the staple, a Uttle rice, and the
coarser grains banti, hdvta, kodra, axLdjhdbi ; and in the cold weather,
gram and wheat. The tillage is rude and careless. West of Sursi,
Tejgad, with seveiity-seven villages including Udepur the capital
of the state, has the Bariya hills on the north, Sursi on the east,
the river Orsang on the south, and Jetpur and Kadval on the
west. Like Sursi, the country is hilly and wooded, with scattered
hamlets and patches of tillage. The population, crops, and style
of tillage are much the same as those of Sursi. Palm trees both
cocoanut and wild date, found all over Chhota Udepur, are commonest
in Tejgad. They do much to lower the state of the Bhils, who
having a right to the juice, when the sap begins to rise, camp under

Chapter^ XIII.

States.

Chhota Udbpuk.

Population.

Sub- divisions.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

112

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

Chhota. CJdepur,
Sub-divisions.

History.

one of the trees and by the help of a small store of maize flour, men,
women, and children, live on the fermented juice. In the north-west
corner of the state, Kadva'lj with sixteen villages, wild and beautiful
with hills and forests, is very backward. South of Kadval and west
of Tejgad, Jetpue, with seventy-six villages, has some of the best
land in the state. Open, but thickly dotted with wild date trees, the
soil is light and with thriftier less unskilled peasants would yield rich
crops. At present the people and chief products differ little from
those of Sursi. Pa'nvad, to the south-east of Tejgad, with eighty-
five villages, is a rich well-watered tract crossed from north-east to
south-west by a range of hills. Water is near the surface, and the
soil is rich. In the rains, millet the staple, and rice grow well ;
and in the cold weather there are luxuriant crops of wheat and gram.
Cotton, if its cultivation was fostered, would flourish. South of
Panvad are the fifty-four villages of Kava'nt. The country, crossed
from north to south by a well planned road, is hilly throughout, and
in the south is wild and rugged. The people and tillage are very
backward. In patches near hamlets, Indian corn and millet are
grown in the rains, and wheat and barley in the cold Weather, This
sub-division contains two places of some interest, Hamph a place of
pilgrimage on the Narbada (see p. 161), and three or four miles south
of Kavant, Mohan^ an old capital of the Chhota Udepur chiefs.
West of Panvad, the thirty-eight villages of Kaea'li, in the north,
open and with good black soU,. stretch south into a hUly broken
country. Though the crops are much the same as in other parts of
Chhota Udepur, and though most of the people are BhilSj an
intermixture of Kanbis has done something to better the style of
tillage. To the north of Karali and between it and Jetpur, lie the
eight villages of JSABuaA'M, watered by the river Orsang, in soil and
products like Karali. These villages, formerly shared between the
Gaikwar and the Udepur chief, were, in 1873, as part of a general
settlement of claims, made over to Udepur. To the south of
Jhabugam, are the twenty- three villages of Ea'j Va'sna, originally
thirty-four, and reduced to their present number, in 1873, when the
claims of the Gaikwar and the Udepur chief were settled. This
sub-division, level and well supplied with water, and with a loamy soil
partly deep black, partly light, is the richest and best tilled portion
of the Chhota Udepur state, jdelding millet, pulse, gram, rice,
cotton, and sugarcane. Tabgol, the last sub-division, a small tract
of nine villages, lies to the west of Raj Vasna, isolated from the
rest of Udepur by the small state of • Jambughoda in the Panch
Mahals. The country is covered with hills and forest, the people are
almost entirely Bhils, and the products little beyond inferior crops
of maize, millet, pulse, and such coarser grains as Icodra, hanU, and
hdvto.

The Chhota Udepur chiefs claim to belong to the clan of Khichi
Chohans, whose head Anhal is said to have been created by Vasishth
Muni out of the Agni Kund on mount Abu. Ajayapal, one of Anhal's
successors, founded the city of Ajmir, and another named Manikrai,
settling at Sambhar, has landed down the title of Sambhri Eao or

Gujarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

113

Lords of Sambhar. Descended itoxa M^nikr^i, the Khichi Clioliaiis
first settled in tlie remote Sind S^gar, a tract extending OTer
about 100 miles (68 kos) between the Behat and the Sind, whose
capital was Khichpur Patan. One of the successors of Manikrai
was Bir Bilandev or Dharmagaj, who, in the beginning of the
eleventh century, defended Ajmir against Mahmud of Ghazni. His
successor Bisaldev or Visaldev, flourished from 1010 to 1074, and
was the founder of the town of Visalnagar in north Gujarat. The
successors of Visaldev were Sarangdev, Ano, Jepal, Ananddev,
Someshvar, and Prithiraj Ghohan, the celebrated hero of Ohand's
great epic the Prithiraj Base. After the defeat of Prithiraj, who
fell in 1193 fighting against Shahab-ud-din Ghori, the Khichia
settled in a part of Malwa called after them the Khichi Vada.^ In
1800 Khichi Hamir, descendant of Prithitaj, distinguished
himself by his gallant defence of Eanthambhor against Ala-ud-din
Khilji.^ After the fall of Eanthambhor a body of Khichis moved to
Gujarat, and there conquered the kingdom of Champaner at the foot
of Pavagad hill. Here they continued to rule till, in 1484, their
city and hill fort were captured by Mahmud Begada (1469 - 151 1) .*
Jayasing, the last Chohan Baja of Champaner, the Patai Baval
of the bards, was killed by Mahmud Begada in 1484. Of his three
sons, Eayasing died during his father's lifetime, Limb£ji the
second escaped at the fall of Champaner, and the third Tejsing was
taken prisoner and became a Musalman.

According to bardic accounts a son of Eayasing escaping from
Champaner, settled at Hamph a small out-of-the-way hamlet on the
right bank of the Narbada, Left unmolested in this wild country,
he and his descendants established claims of tribute over a large
tract of east Gujarat, and, later on, in the decay of the authority
of the Ahmedabad kings (1540-1572), were able to spread their
power, and move their head-quarters to Mohan in a richer and
less remote part of the country.'* Commanding the pass into the
difficult tracts on the banks of the Narbada, the site was well
chosen, and its ruins show that Mohan was once a place of
considerable importance.

Along with Eajpipla and Godhra, Muhammadan historians seem
to include Mohan, or Ali Mohan, under the name Pal. But at the
close of the sixteenth century it was recognized as a separate
district. Abul Fazl in the Ain-i-Akbari states that * to the east
of Nandarbar, to the north of Mendo, to the south of Nadowfc

Chapter XIII.

States.

Chhota Udbpuk.

History.

» Tod's RAjasthAn, II- 411, 416.

2 The fort was not taken without much difficulty. Hamir and all the new
Musalmina or converted Moghals, who were with him, were alain. TArikb-i-Firoz
Sh^hi : BlUot, III. 179. , „, .

' The names of the OhohAn rulers of Chdmpdner were R^ja Shri Rimdev, Shn
Chtogdev, Shri Chichingdev, Shri Sonamdev, Shrf Pdlhansing, Shri Jitkaran,
Shri Kampu Rival, Shri Vir Dhaval, Shri Savr^j, Shri Rdghavdev, Shri Trimbakbhup,
Shri Gang Rijeshvar, and Shri Jayaaingdev.

■* According to one account it was P4t4i Rival's grandson Prithirij, according to
another account it was Kiyaji, three genera^iions later, who founded Mohan.

B 561—15

[Bombay Gazetteer*

114

STATES.

Chapter ZIII.

States.
Chhota Udbpue.

History.

(Nandod) and the west of CL.ampaner, was a district ninety miles by
sixty (60.by 40 hos), witb many wild elephants. It was under a Ohoban
ThakoPj whose capital was Ali Mohan (Almydhan), and who had a
force of 600 horsemen and 15^000 foot'.^ In course of time, probably
during the decay of Moghal power in the early part of the eighteenth
century,^ the capital was moved twenty miles north to Chhota
Udepur on the banks of the Or. The site was well suited for trade,
but it was a place of no strength and the chiefs were, before long,
forced to pay tribute to the Gaikwar. Baji Eaval, who is said to
have founded Ohhota Udepur, died childless, and Vas succeeded
by his cousia Durjansing,^ and he by his grand-nephew Amarsing.
After Amarsing came Abhayasing, and he, shortly after, being killed
by a fall from his horse, was succeeded by Rayasing,* who in 1813
built the Udepur fort. Dying in 1819, Rayasing was succeeded by
his son Prithiraj, the ruling chief in 1822 when, on its guaranteeing
a yearly tribute of £877 (Baroda Rs. 10,500),^ the control of the
state was transferred to the British G-overnment by the G-aikwar,
After his death, in 1832, his cousin Gumansing succeeded, who, dying
in 1851, left as heir the present Raja Jitsing bom in 1834. On
the 29th November 1858, Tatia Topi, then in rebellion against the
British Government, appeared with a strong army before Udepur.
Though the defences of the town were weak, the Raja shut his gates
and stoutly refused to let Tatia Topi enter, threatening that if he
forced his way in, he would kill his R^nis and children, and himself
commit suicide. Tatia refrained and pitched his camp on the plain
on the east side of the town. On the following day the rebels
entered and plundered the town. Tatia had intended to halt at Chhota
Udepur to recruit his men and to develop his intrigues with the
Baroda Sardars, but Brigadier Parke, who was on his track, gave
him no respite. On the 1st December 1858 he fell upon Tatia's rebel
force and defeated it with great slaughter, his loss being trifling.
This defeat caused great confusion in the ranks of the insurgents.
Tatia abandoned his army and fled to the forest lands of Parona.

The Raja is a chief of the second class and is entitled to a salute
of nine guns. He pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £877 (Baroda
Rs. 10,500), receiving in return a dress of honour. He also receives
small sums aggregating £62 (Rs. 620) a year from villages in
Gaikwar territory, in the Rewa Kantha, and in the Panch Mahals,
and £50 (Rs. 500) a year from the Thakor of Gad.

The following is, as far as can be ascertained, the Chhota Udepur
family tree. It is defective in several respects.

' Gladwin's Ain-i-Akbari, 11.72. A few years later (1609), the Ali Mohan contin-
gent to the Gujarat frontier force was 350 men. Major Watson, 69.

' Of the date of the change no record reinains, and the name of the chief B4ji KiTal
who is said to have moved the capital, does not appear in the Chhota Udepur K4ja's
family tree.

' According to the ESjas' list, six Rijds reigned between the founder and Duijan-
sing. These were : Karansing, Vajesing, Gumansing, Edyasing, Tejsing (who founded
the town of Tejgad}, and Jasvantsing.

* The names of Amarsing and Abhayasing are not mentioned in the RijAs' list,

" Aitchison'a Treaties (1876), IV. 275-277.

Gujar&tJ

REWA KANTHA.

115

Jayasing P^Ui B^val.
Rdyasing.

Pritliirij.>

Dungarsing
(BAriya).

Chapter XIII.
States.

ChHOTA UDEPtTE.

History.

BAji EavaP
(founder of Chhota
Udepur).

Durjansing.

Amarsing.
Abhayasing,

RAyaaing

(died 1819).

Prithirij
(died 1822).

Guminsiug
(died 1851).

Jitsing
(the present Chief).

* Another account puts Pratdpsing between Jayasing and RAyasing, and makes Prithirdj and
Bungarsing the grandsons of Eayasing by his son Trimbal^ing, Bom. Crov. Sel. XXIII. 118.
3 One account makes Bdji Rdval sixth in descent from FrithirSj. Bombay Chiefs, Rewa Kdntha, 9.

Ba'riya, called after tlie Bariya Kolis wlio held it before the Rajput Ba'kiya.

conquest, between 22° 21' and 22° 58' north latitude, and 73° 41'
and 74° 18' east longitude, has an area of 813 square miles, a
population, in 1872, of 62,421 souls or 64"48 to the square mile,
and, during the five years ending 1878, an average yearly revenue of
£17,500 (Rs. 1,75,000).

It is bounded on the north by the Rewa Kantha estate of Sanjeli ; Boundaries,
on the east by the Jhalod and Dohad sub-divisions of the Panch
Mahals ; on the south by the Rewa Kantha state of Chhota Udepur
and of Kathivada under the Bhopavar Agency, and the Bhil estate
of Jambughoda in the Panch Mahals ; and on the west by Kalol
and Godkra in the Panch Mahals. Its extreme length from north
to south is thirty-nine miles.

Triangular in shape, about thirty -nine miles from north to south,
and gradually narrowing from forty -five miles in the south to eight
miles in the north, the country is, except some open plaius, covered
with hills and woods.

The chief rivers are the Panam and the Haraph. The Panam Rivers,

flows north-west from the Ratanmal hills dividing the state into
two unequal parts. The Haraph runs parallel to the Panam about
twelve miles north of it. Two other streams, the Groma and Karad
flowing west to the Mahi from the south of the state, are of little
consequence. The supply of water is from wells, village ponds,
and river beds.

[Boml>a7 Gazetteer,

116

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ba'biya.

EUlB.

Climate.
Products,

PopnUtion,

8ub-di visions.

In the west, the country, generally flat, is here and there broken
by isolated hUla. To the south and east, the hills are higher and
more connected, until, along the south frontier, they form an
unbroken line stretching from east to west, and forming the water-
shed between the Mahi and Narbada. A similar line of hills
stretches north from the Ratanmal range, and forms the water-shed
between the Mahi and the Banas. Prom this range, many side
spurs run west, falling in height and importance, as they stretch
further from the table-land. North of the Panam, long liaes of
hog-backed hills run north-west nearly parallel with the boundary of
the state till it reaches Sanjeli. None of the hills rise to more than
1200 feet above the sea.

The climate is damp and unhealthy, with much fever.

The chief products are timber, maize, pulse, gram, wheat, hanti,
hdvto, hodra, oil seeds, and, in a few places, sugarcane. There are
no mines and no manufactures.

In 1869, a rough census gave a population of 49,220 souls, of
whom 48,127 were Hindus, 1081 Musalmans, and 12 Parsis. The
1872 census showed a population of 52,421 souls or 64-48 to the
square mile. Of the whole number, 51,309 or 97-87 per cent were
Hindus, 1095 or 2*09 per cent Musalmans, and 17 Parsis. Of the
Hindus 441 were classed as Brahmans ; 542 as Kshatris, Eajputs ; '
1374 as Vaishas, traders and merchants; 5315 as Shudras, cultivators,
craftsmen, labourers and depressed classes; and 43,637 as unsettled
tribes, including 26,524 Kolis, 13,713 Bhils, 3397 Naikdas, and
3 Jats. Of the 51,309 Hindus, 1565 were Vaishnavs, 427 of them
Ramanujs, 78 Svdminarayans and 1060 Vallabhacharis, 412 were
Shaivs, 19 Shravaks, 47 ascetics, and 49,266 of no special sect.
Of the Musalmans 25 were Syeds, 377 Shaikhs, 157 Pathans, 84
Bohoras, 2 Khojas, 45 Arabs, 179 Makranis, and 226 were entered
as 'Others'. Of the whole number 989 were Sunnis, and 106 were
Shias. Of the Parsis 7 were Shahanshais and 10 Kadmis. The
number of villages was 478 or 0"58 to the square mile; the average
village population 109-66 persons to the village. Of the whole
number, 424 villages had less than 200 inhabitants ; 48 from 200 to
500 ; 5 from 500 to 1000 ; and one, the town of Bariya, from 2000
to 3000. There were 12,404 houses or an average of 15-25 houses
to the square mile and 4-22 persona to each house. Of the total
number of houses, 544 inhabited by 1739 persons were of the better,
and 11,860 occupied by 50,682 persons of the poorer, sort.

The lands of the state are distributed over seven sub-divisions :
Randhikpur; Dudhia; Ilmaria; Haveli; Kakadkhila; Sagtala; and
Rajgad, Randhikpue in the north has fifty-nine villages moat
of them small, poor, and almost entirely peopled by Bhils. ^ Dudhia
has sixty-seven villages, where tillage, though rude and imperfect,
is better than in Randhikpur. Some of the husbandmen are Kanbis,
induced to settle in Dudhia by the late chief, who gave many
privileges, freeing them from import and export duties. Umaeia
Is a wild hill and forest tract of forty-four villages, its people al^jiost
all Kolis and Bhils. Haveli is the largest and next to Rajgad the
most flourishing of the Bariya sub-divisions. It has seventy-three

Oujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

117

villages including the capital, Devgad Bariya. Ka'kadkhila has
fifty-seven villages, the people in nearly equal proportion Bhils and
Kolis, with a small sprinMing of Naikdas. The country is wild,
waving hills and forests, and in the low ground patches of cleared
land with here and there detached Bhil or Koli huts. Sa'gta'la to
the south of Bariya, has forty-five villages peopled almost entirely by
Kolis and Naikdas. Ra'jgad is the best tilled, and for its size the
most productive of the Bariya sub-divisions. This is in part owing
to a fair sprinkling of Brahman and Kanbi husbandmen, partly to
the greater richness of the soil, and partly to its neighbourhood to
the ancient capital of Champaner and to the more modern and
thriving district of Kalol. In 1865 of 153 wells, the total return
for the whole state, 110 were in Rajgad. Of late years sugarcane
tillage has greatly spread. Many Naikdas live in the lonelier parts,
but the bulk of the people are Kolis.

The Rajas of Bariya are said to belong to the same class of
Khichi Chohan Rajputs as the Rajas of Chhota Udepur. It has
been shown in the historical sketch of Chhota Udepur, that after the
fall of Patai Raval of Champaner, his grandson Prithiraj took refuge
in the village of Hamph on the Narbada, where he established himself,
and plundered the neighbouring districts. To keep him quiet the
Gujarat Viceroys allowed him a fourth share, chauth, of the revenues
of Halol and Kalol. His son Dungarsing conquered Bariya from
the Bhils. According to another bardic account Pratapsing, the son
of Patai Raval, established himself at Hamph, and his son Rayasing
founded the principality of Chhota Udepur. Trimbaksing, the son
and successor of Rayasing, conquered Bariya from the Bhils,^ and,
about 1670, before starting on a pilgrimage to Gaya, divided his
possessions among his two sons, giving Chhota Udepur to Rayaji the
elder, and Bariya to Dungarji the younger. Dungarsing's successors
were Udesing, Rayasing, Vijaysing, and Mansing about whom
nothing certain is known, except that Mansing's reign ended about
1720. At his death, a Beluch soldier seized the government, and the
Rani, taking her young son Prithiraj, fled to her father the Raval of
Dungarpur. Here Prithiraj stayed for twelve years, and then (1732)
returning, drove out the usurper, built the present town of Bariya, and
called it Devgad or God's fort.* At this time the one-fourth share of
the Dohad revenue was, in return for a money advance, ceded to
Bariya by the chief of Sunth. About the middle of the eighteenth
century, the Maratha armies under Udaji Puar, Malharrav Holkar,
and Jankoji Sindia entered Bariya. They did not call on the chief
to pay tribute, but, acknowledging him lord of his own lands,
encouraged him to protect the country from freebooters and
allowed him tq levy tribute from Halol, Kalol, and Dohad.

Chapter^XIII

States.

Ba'biya.

Sub- divisions.

History.

' Of the former Koli or Bhil rulers of Biriya, traces remain in the family of Bhils
at BAriya, who take the leading part in the three-year festival to the Devgad gods,
and in the BAriyis of Paroli in RAjgad who have the right of presenting each new
chief with a dagger, and claim to have once held the country between Pivdgad and
the river Pinam.

2 His predecessors lived in another BAriya village, now known aa old Biriya,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

118

STATES.

Chapter^ XIII.
States.
Ba'rita.
History,

Prithiraj was succeeded by Rayadharji.^ To the otter three
sons Samatsing, Harising, and Ramsing, and to the two daughters,
grants of villages were made, which their descendants still keep
on condition that the holders continue to live in the town of Bariya.
Rayadharji was succeeded by Gangdasji, and he by Gambhirsing,
who was followed by Dhiratsing, and he by Sahebsing. When,
about the end of the 18th century, Mahadaji Sindia passed through
Bariya in pursuit of Raghoba, the Raja was treated with kindness
and presented with gifts. Sahebsing was succeeded by Tashvant-
sing and Tashvantsing by his son Gangdas. During the reign of this
chief, Bariya suffered from Maratha raids. In 1802 Nagoji Vahji,
an oificer of Sindia' s, levied a sum of £10,000 (Rs. 1,00,000), and,
two years later, Sadashivrav exacted £8400 (Rs. 84,000). In 1805
Sambhaji Angria, on the part of Sindia, extorted £1400 (Rs. 14,000) ;
and in the following year Bhujangrav, an officer of the same
government, levied £800 (Rs. 8000), and Mahipatrav,^ one of
Holkar's commanders, coUecbed £3300 (Rs. 33,000). In 1808 Bapu
Sindia not only exacted £2300 (Rs. 23,000), but plundered the
capital.* From 1810 to 1815 Ramdin, Roshan Beg,* Bapu Raghunath
of Dhar, andGovindravBolia levied contributions. Raja Gangdas was
so imbecile, that the government continued to be under the control
of his mother till, in 1817, she was treacherously murdered by a
Brahman named Naranji Dave. This man, a dismissed manager of
the Rajgad sub-division, had entered the service of Krishnaji the
manager of Godhra, who gave him the command of 100 horse and
400 foot. Shortly after, he made use of the chance given by
Krishnaji's moving out to collect the revenues to plan an attack
on Bariya. At Dohad, by a promise of £500 (Rs. 5000), he induced
Krishnaji to agree to his taking a party of 100 horse and 300 foot to
carry his designs into execution. With these he proceeded to Bariya
and, on drawing near, left the main body and with only twenty-five
followers entered the town. At night he privately entered the
palace and, putting the Rani in fear of the Godhra troops, induced
her to leave the palace and put her to death. He then plundered
her estate, killed Ratan Sabhan her confidential servant, and,
intending to destroy him, put the chief in confinement. Escaping
to Ohhota Udepur, the chief was brought back (1817-18). And soon
after, in a fight with Vithoji the brother of the Godhra manager,
the usurper Naranji was mortally wounded.

The connection between the British Government and Bariya
state dates from 1803, when Daulatrav Sindia's Gujarat districts were
taken by a British force commanded by Colonel Murray. The
success of that campaign was greatly due to the friendship and

• In Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. (New Series) p. 119, Edyadharji is stated to have
succeeded Mdnsing ; the bardic accounts mention Edyadharji as the successor of
Prithirdj.

^ Malcolm's Central India, I. 264, 265.

' Malcolm's Central India, II. 248. The name of B^pu Sindia is still, on every new
year's day, cursed by the BAriya townspeople,

* Both these were Holkar's officers. Malcolm's Central India, I, 276, 277.

GKijar&t.]

EEWA KlNTHA.

119

goodwill shown by Raja Gangdas,^ for wHch service lie was
declared entitled to Britisli protection under the tenth article of the
treaty of Sarji Anjangaon.^ Though enclosed by Sindia's Gujarat
possessions, the Bariya state never became tributary to that chief.
It was subject to attacks from Siadia's troops, and sometimes had
to pay heavily before they withdrew, but it escaped a yearly tribute
and maintamed its right to share in the revenues of Halol, Kalol,
and Dohad, which, in 1819, was commuted into a yearly payment of
£414 (Baroda Rs. 4750) . Raja Gangdas died in 1819. The miuister
Rupji immediately seized the government, and raised to the chiefship
a child called Bhimsing, the son of a Bhil, who had been adopted
by one of the late chief's wives to the exclusion of Prithiraj, his lawful
son. Soon after, Rupji was supplanted by his brother Jijibhai, who
removed the spurious Bhimsing and raised Prithiraj to the chiefship.
Jijibhai mismanaged the state so scandalously, that, in 1824, he was
removed by Captain MacDonald, then in political charge, and his
place given to Nathubhai a relation of the chief. Prithiraj was then
seven years old. In 1824 the state agreed to pay for British
protection a yeaxly sum of £933 12s. 6d. {Sdlamshod Rs. 12,000).
This, which at first was to rise with the prosperity of the state, was
fixed in 1849.^ This amount is still paid, but, under orders issued in
1868, it is spent for the good of the country or in matters connected
with the management of the RewaKantha Agency. In 1838 Keval
Naik and his brothers of the village of Bara in the Sagtala
sub-division of Bariya, with other Udepur and the Panch Mahals
Naikdas, harassed the country. Government interfered, restored
order, and took Sagtala under their direct management. Prithiraj
died in 1864, and as his son Mansingji was only eight years old, the
charge of the estate was entrusted to the Political Agent. It remained
under direct management till, in November 1876, on his coming of
age, it was handed over to the young chief. Since 1864, except for
the Naikda rising in 1868, in which the Bariya post of Rajgad was
burnt, order has been unbroken.*

During the eleven years of direct management, Bariya made very
great progress. The whole district was surveyed, and of its 439
villages the limits were fixed, and the lands measured and mapped.
By revising the rates, introducing better supervision, and abolishing
monopolies and farms, the customs revenue was raised from £5132
(Rs. 51,328) in 1864-65 to £6989 (Rs. 69,891) in 1875-76 ; the land
revenue from £7869 (Rs. 78,688) to £8008 (Rs. 80,077) ; and the total
receipts from £15,232 (Rs. 1,52,318) to £17,210 (Rs. 1,72,097), and
though more than £71,684 (Rs. 7,16,845) were spent on works of

ChaptOT^XIII.
States.
Ba'riya.
History.

Development,
1865-1876.

' When the war with Sindia broke out, the Bdriya chief freely and zealously
aided the British commander by keeping open his communications and furnishing
supplies. A body of Bariya Bhils was subsidized, and attached to the force during
the campaign. Bom. Quar. Rev. Ill, (1856), 357.

2 Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IH. 277.

» Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 273, 274.

4 Details of the Naikda rising are given in the FauchMahils Statistical Account,
Bombay Gazetteer, III. 255-258.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

120

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ba'riya.

Development,
1865-1876.

public usefulness/ a debt of £10,803 (Es. 1,08,030) was converted
into a cash balance of £18,111 (Rs. 1,81,111). An efficient federal
police was organized, and traders, where they formerly risked almost
certain robbery, can now pass without escort or fear. A dispensary
has been opened, and large numbers of children have been vaccinated.
Schools have risen from one to fourteen and pupils from 100 to 632,
The young Raja has been educated at the Ahmedabad Talukdari
school, and the Rajkot Rajkumar College. He is a chief of the second
class, and is entitled to a salute of nine guns. Probably from the
late date at which the present family was established at Bariya,
the state is very free from sharers and cadets, and the amount of
alienations is small, chiefly confined to villages close to the capital.
In this state there is a remarkable absence of nobles, sarddrs,
vassals, patdvats, or cadets, bhdydds.

The following is, as far as can be ascertained, the Bariya family
tree. It is defective in several respects.

Jayasing, Pdtii Raval,

E^yasing.

Prithirdj
(Chhota Udepur).

Dungarsing.'
Udesing.
Eiyasing.
Vijayaing.
Minaing (died about 1720>.'
Prithiraj (came to the throne 1732),
Edyadharji.^

Gangd&ji.

I
Gambhirsing.

Dhiratsing/

Sdhebaing.

Yashvantsing.

Gangdd;s (died ISigy.
Prithirij (died 1864).

Mdnsing (the present Chieif,

» See note' 1 Chhota tldepiir fajnily tree.

'Ope account makes Mansing the grandson of D'nngarsing bj- hia son Prithirij, thns omiititig
Mansing'a three predecessors. Of these four successors of Dungarsing little ia ^own except th^
Mtosing's reign ended about 1720. Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 118.

=> One account puts in Mousing between R6yadhar,ji and Prithirfij. Bom. Gov. Sel. XS.111. 119.

* Some lists omit Dhiratsing, while others omit hia grandfather Gangd&aji. Bom. Gov, Sel. XX-III.
119, 147: Bombay Chiefs, Hewa K4ntha, 13.

^ These include twenty miles within BAriya territory of the Godhra and Dohad road
at a total cost of £27,583 (Rs. 2,75,828) ; a substantial jail, dispensary, school, and
an ornamental clock-tower in the town of BAriya ; and in the district, four rest-houses,
six ponds, and fifty-five wella either built or repaired] besides thirteen school houses,
offices, toll houses, and police posts.

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

121

Luna'va'da, lying between north latitude 22° 50' and 23° 16'
and east longitude 73° 21' and 73° 47', with an area of 388 square
miles, had in 1 872 a population of 74,81 3 souls or 192*81 to the square
mile, and, during the five years ending 1878, an estimated average
yearly revenue of £13,940 (Rs. 1,39,400). ^

It is bounded on the north by the Rajputana state of Dungarpur,
on the east by Sunth and Kadana in Rewa Kantha, on the south
by the Godhra sub-division of the Ranch Mahals, and on the west
by Balasinor in Rewa Kantha, and Idar in Mahi Kantha.
Irregular in shape with many outlying villages, its lands are much
mixed with those of Balasinor and the British Ranch Mahals. Its
extreme length from north to south is thirty-four, and its extreme
breadth from east to west twenty-five, miles.

The soil is generally stony and the country open and rocky with,
in places, low scantily wooded hills.

Besides the Mahi, flowing through the district from the north-
east to the south-west, and the Panam in the south flowing west
into the Mahi, there are of local streams the Bhadar, which joins
the Mahi, the Vehri which falls into the P^nam, and the Sheri
which, taking its rise from the hills of Dhamod in the Vardhari
sub-division, joins the Vatrak at the town of Kaira, and finally falls
into the Sabarmati. Besides ponds there are near very many
villages a large number of wells, 642 of them built and 297 unbuilt.

The north of the state is very rugged, and in the south-east a
chain of hills stretches from the town of Lunavada into Sunth. In
the Vardhari sub-division, there is a central and a western ridge
of moderately high hills, and in Nandarva are two nearly parallel
ranges of crescent-shaped hills, steep but not very high.

The climate is perhaps somewhat cooler than in the neighbouring
parts of Gujarat. The prevailing disease is fever. The average
fall of rain during the five years ending 1878 was thirty-nine inches.
The highest and lowest ranges of the thermometer in the town of
Lunavada during 1873 were 114° in May and 50° in February.

Cereals and timber are the chief products.

Chapter^XIII.

States.
Luna'va'da.

Position.
Boundaries.

Aspect .

Rivers,

Hills.

Climate.

1 Lundvdda Balance Sheet, 1818.

RKCEIPT3.

£.

DlSBnBSEHBNTS.

£.

Land Revenue

8680

Establishments

1998

Transit Dutiea, sdyor

1862

PoUce ana Military

2725

Cesses

738

Jail

562

Excise

430

Education

473

Law and Justice

263

Medical

205 •

Medical

AUowancee

653

Miscellaneous

418

Public works

635

State charges

1488

Tributes and fixed payments

3046

Survey charges

255

Interest on Loans

353

Misoellaneons

804

Rdja's marriage charges

Total ...

3313

Total ...

11,955

16,369

B 561-16

[Bombay Gazetteer,

122

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

LUNA'VA'DA.

Population.

Sub-divisions.

Tte 1872 census showed a total population of 74,813 souls or
192-81 to tlie square mile. Of the whole number 71,725 or 95-87
per cent were Hindus, and 3088 or 4-13 per cent Musalmans. Of
the Hindus, 7976 were Brahmans, priests ; 2577 Rajputs, cultiTatorsf
2201 Vanias, traders J 11,760 Kanbis, cultivators; 162 Kachhidsi,
cultivators; 856 Suthdrs, carpenters; 910 Luhars, blacksmiths; 193
Kadias, bricklayers ; 944 Kumbhars, potters ; 507 Darjis, tailors ; 127
"Golas, rice-beaters; 1014 Hajams, barbers; 701 Bhois and 1258
Machhis, fishers; 124 Bharvads, shepherds; 198 Vanjar-as, carriers;
808 Gosais, religious beggars; of unsettled tribes, 33,117 Kolis
and Bhils ; and of depressed classes, 209 Turis, 207 Garudas, 112
Dabgars, 4484 Dheds, 730 Chamadias, 135 Bhambhis, and 478
Bhangis.

Of the 71,725 Hindus, 15,564 were Vaishnavs, 4791 of them Vir-
vaishnavs, 8852 Ramanujs, 543 Svaminarayans, 1329 Vallabha-
charis, and 49 Kabirpanthis ; 10,846 were Shaivs; 468 Shravaks;
5 Ascetics ; and 44,842 of no special sect. Of the 3088 Musalmans
2450 were Sunnis, 74 of them Syeds, 490 Shaikhs, 420 Pathans, 14
Moghals, 167 Arabs, 30 Makranis, and 1255 ' Others'; and 638,
all of them Bohoras, were Shias. The number of villages was 437
or 1-12 to the square mile, and the average village population
171-11. Of the whole number 334 villages had less than 200
inhabitants ; 84 had from 200 to 500 ; 14 from 500 to 1000 ; 4 from
1000 to 2000 ; and one, the town of Lunavada, had 9662 souls, of
whom 7206 were Hindus, and 2456 Musalmans. There were
17,357 houses or on an average 44-56 houses to the square mile, and
4-48 persons to each house. Of the houses 7614 with 33,172
inmates were of the better, and 9743 with 41,641 inmates of the
lower, sort.

The lands of the state are distributed over five sub-divisions,
Pandarvada, Khanpur,^ Haveli, Vardhari, and' Nandarva.
Pa'ndaeva'da in the north, from being constantly exposed to the raids
of its wild neighbours, is the least advanced part of the state. On the
west lie the states of Magodi and Idar, on the east the wild villages '
of Kadana, and on its north the Pal or Bhil country of Dungarpur.
The most northerly villages are peopled by different tribes of Kolis
or Bhils, whose main object in former times was to hold" their own
against their neighbours, and to refuse to pay tribute to any
superior. This was especially the case with the large village of
Chhani, -and its hamlets in the extreme north of the state.,
Stretching over seven square miles its possession was hotly contested'!
by the chiefs of Dungarpur and Lundv£da. The villagers, knowing
that the settlement of the quarrel would involve the loss of their
freedom and the payment of tribute to one side or the other, fosteredl.
the dispute by alternately giving evidence in favour of each of
the claimants. After much delay the dispute was, in 1 872, decided in
favour of Lunavada. Of the thirty-nine villages three are held on
service, one on charitable, one on grant tenure, and thirty-four

' Since this was written the sub-division of PdndarvAda has been included under
1 new Khinpur sub-division.

GujarAt.]

REWA KANTHA.

12S

pay rent to the state. The people are nearly all Kolis and Bhils.
Kha'npue, south of Pandarvada, has forty-one villages, seven of
them held on service tenure, three assigned to temples, three given
as maintenance, jivdi, and two in gift, inam. The remaining twenty-
six pay rent to the state. Some villages of this sub-division have
a fair number of settled Kanbi inhabitants. Others as Khanpur and
Karanta in a difficult country are peopled entirely by Kolis, who in
former times refused to pay any allegiance. Karanta now a small
village, in the angle formed by the meeting of the Bhadar and
the Mahi, was formerly a place of considerable note, and plays a
leading part in the legends of the state. It is said that it was
formerly ruled by a man of very low caste, who fell in love
with a Brahman's daughter,, and demanded her in marriage.
The Brahman sought the help of Kutub Muhamniad,^ a saint who
lived at Shiraj, and who was a lineal descendant of Abbas, the uncle
of Muhammad. Kutub Muhammad came and completely destroyed
the power of the low caste ruler of Karanta. He then took up his
residence in the town of Karanta and worked many miracles. Crowds
flocked to see him, and he healed the sick, stayed a pestilence,
and caused water to flow in dry places. The neighbouring
town of Yirpur was at that time ruled by a Koli named Vir, who
jealous of the saint's influence, harassed him in various ways.
Kutub Muhammad sought the help of some Solanki Rajputs of the
family of Sidhraj Jayasing, the king of Anhilvada Patan, and with
their aid drove out Vir from Virpur. The Rajputs established
themselves there, and were the ancestors of the present Lunavada
dynasty. The saint died, it is said, at Karanta full of years and
honour, and his shrine was visited yearly by thousands of pilgrims.
Afterwards, his remains were taken to the tomb of his grandson,
Dariayi Saheb at Yirpur, and together they have been venerated.*
It is said that the daughter of the Brahman, for whose sake Kutub
Muhammad came all the way from Shiraj, threw herself, weary of
life and of the strife of which she was the innocent cause, into a
pool in the Bhadar river, and that her ghost S'till haunts, it. The
Cha'tkabeli or Haveli sub-division to the south of Khanpur, in the

Chapter^ XIII.

States.

Lttna'va'ba.
Sub- divisions,

' This acoqjmt of Kutub Muhanunad and his successors is taken from a Persian
work Tukfat-ul-kdr-i-malfus, written in 1705 (1119 H.), by Mansur bin Chtod
Muhammad of Ahmedabad.

2 Another local legend tells how a blacksmith of the name of LdKa lived in
Ahmedabad making axes and other Bhil tools. One day a Bhil came to him bringing an
axe of Lilia's making, and complaining that it would not cut. I41ia on looking at it
found that the blade was turned to gold. On questioning the Bhil, he found that he
had tried to sharpen the axe on a stone he had brought with him, and LAlia immediately
pearceived that the man was in possession of the philosopher's stone. He bought
it, but before he could use it, the news came to the ears of the Muhammadan king
of the city, who immediately tried to get it. Ldlia managed to escape, and arriving
in the LunAvAda district built a fort near the village of Dhdmod, where for some time
he opposed the army which was sent after him successfully. He eventually had to
beat a retreat, and after various adventures took refuge near KAranta, where, it is said,
he built a fort. But he could not stand against the king's troops, and finding that
he would have to retreat again, and believing the stone to be the source of all his
troubles, he threw it into a deep pool in the Bhddar river close to Karanta. The king's
troops vainly tried to find it. They threw in some iron chains, and had undisputable
evidence of the existence of the stone, by finding some of the links turned to gold.
But the stone they never discovered, and there it is said still to lie.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

124

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Luna'va'da.
Sub-divisiona.

History.

corner between tlie Malii and Panam rivers, is the richest and largest
sub-division of the district. Besides Lunavada it contains 130 villageSj
fifty of them state, khdlsa, the rest either wholly or partly alienated.
The Vaedhaei sub-division to the west of the Mahi is much mixed
with Balasinor villages. Of 50 villages 36 belong to the state, 10 are
held under quasi-proprietary tenure, and 4 are private, indm. The
lands in the valley of the river Sheri form the most fertile portion '
of the sub-division. The chief crops are rice, millet, and bahti. There
are also grown bdvta, hodra, mag, tal, guvdr, adad, math, tuver, hemp,
juvdr, maize, castor- oil, wheat, tobacco, and gram. Except in some
villages with a fair sprinkling of Kanbis, the people are Kolis.
There is no market town ; the only village of any trading
consequence is Vardhari Dhamod on the extreme western frontier
of the state. This is connected with the fortunes of Lalia an
Ahmedabad blacksmith, who is said to have become the holder of
the philosopher's stone. Pursued by the Ahmedabad king, he '
took refuge at Dhamod and gathering the Bhils, opposed the
advance of the king's army. A fort consisting of several semi-circular
bastions with a connecting parapet wall, is pointed out as Lalia's fort,
and facing it, another building of much the same character is shown "
as the stronghold of the pursuing force. A fine mosque still in good
repair shows that under the Musalmans Dhamod was a place of
. some importance. The Na'ndaeva sub-division, to the south of the
Mahi and Panam, is bounded on the north by those rivers with
the exception of a small space where a portion of the Sunth state
crosses the Panam, and intrudes wedge-shaped into Nandarva. On
its southern side it borders on Grodhra with whose villages it is
somewhat intermixed. Of eighty-six villages, fifty-six are state,
hhdlsa, and the rest are held on some quasi-proprietary tenure. On
the top of a hill overlooking the river Panam, stands the very
lonely temple of Dehjaria Mahadev. Its age is unknown. In old
times the god is said, in answer to prayer, to have left near the
temple anything his worshippers prayed for, on condition that they
should return its value within a reasonable time. Many years
ago some faithless votary forgetting to pay his debt, the god's
favour was withdrawn. The staple grains are millet and rice, and
the population is chiefly Koli, with here and there a small community
of Kanbis.

The Eajas of Lunavada claim descent from the Solanki or
Chalukya kings of Anhilvada (942 - 1243). They are known by the
name of Virpura Solankis,^ one of the sixteen branches, shuhhds,
into which the tribe is divided. According to the bardic account,
Eaj and Bij, two brothers of the Solanki clan, came to Patau on
their way from Tunk Toda, the country between the Ganges and
Jamna, to Somnath. Raj married Liladevi the sister of Samatsing,
the last Ohapotkat or Chavda king of Anhilvada, and Mulraj the
son of Raj, killing his uncle Samatsing, usurped the Anhilvada
throne. Some lately-discovered metal-plate land grants of the

' Tod's RiljasthAn, I. 91.

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

125

Anhilvada Clialukyas, show that Mulraj the founder of the Solanki
dynasty in Gujarat^ was the son of Raji the son of BhuvanMitya
and Mng of Kalyan, the capital of the kingdom of Kanya
Knbja or Kanoujj and he conquered Gujarat from Samatsing.^

According to the bardsj one Dhumaldev^ a Solanki^ went to Dholka
in 1104 and to Karli^ in 1134, when Sidhraj Jayasing was king of
Anhilvada. This Dhumaldev is probably DhavaP the founder of
the Vyaghrapalli or Vaghela branch of the Solankis, whose first
seat of government was at Dholka. Virbhadra, the great grandson
of Dhaval,* left Karli and in 1225, killing Viro Bariya its chief,
established himself at Virpur, a town about eight or nine miles
west of Lunavada. His successors were Kikoji, Mahansing, Mahv-
sing, Gomsing, Prathampalaksing, Vikramsing, and Vithalsing.
Vithalsing moved his capital from Virpur to Diya, a village on the
Mahi three or four miles from Lunavada, and his successor Bhimsing
founded the town of Lunavada in 1434. Of Virbhadra's settlement at
Virpur, a bardic legend states that at that time one Viro Bariyo, aKoli,
ruled over Virpur,^ and that he wanted to marry the daughter of a
Brahman of that place. The Brahman asked Virbhadra's help against
the Koli, and it was arranged that the Brahman should give a seeming
consent to the match, and should fix a day for the marriage, and
that on that day Virbhadra should lie in wait with his followers
and fall upon the Kolis. This plan was carried out. Virbhadra
attacked the Kolis, routed them with great slaughter, and established
himself at the Avichal Mata at Virpur. Nothing is known of the
Virpur chiefs, except that they spread their sway east to the site of
the town of Lunavada. The bard's story of the founding of Lunavada
runs as follows. Bhimsing one day went hunting across the Mahi,
and getting separated from his companions, found himself near an
ascetic's hut. Eespectfully saluting the recluse, Bhimsing gained
his goodwill and was told that there was a great future before
him, and that passing east through the forest, at a spot where a hare
should cross his path, he was to found a city. The JElana did as he was

Chapter XIII.

States.

Luna'va'da.

History,

^ Ind. Ant. VI. 181, The bardic account is unworthy of credit except that it
supports Dr. Biihler's contention, that the Solankis of Gujardt came from the north
and not from the south. The idea of their having emigrated from Tunk Toda was
very likely suggested to the bards by the fact that the ancestors of the present
chiefs of Rupuagar in Meywar, who claimed descent from SidhrAj Jayasing, possessed
themselves of IMnk Toda (Tonk in Raiputd,na) after the overthrow of the Solanki
dynasty in Gujardt in 1297, whence they were driven out by the Afghans. Tod's
RAjasthdn, I. 578, 592.

2 Karli is a village in ChuvAl on the road to PAtan from Viramgdm. The
ChuvAl bards trace some connection between the Chuvdl Solankis and the Chilukya
Rijds of Anhilvdda. Detroj was the chief town of the ChuvAl Solankis, who
afterwards intermarried with the Kolis. It is very probable that Dhaval and his
descendants conquered Chuvdl after they had settled at Dholka.

3 Dholka is a corruption of Dhavalgriha or the abode of Dhaval. Dhaval was
married to the sister of the mother of Knmdrpdl, and by her had a son named Arnordj,
who served under KumdipAl. Arno's son was Lavanprasid, whose son Virdhaval was
the famous Kdna of Dholka (1220-12.39).

^ The father of Virbhadra was Mdldev, the son of Jetmal, the son of Dhumaldev.
So that Virbhadra was a distant cousin of Virdhaval, in whose time he moved from
Karli to Virpur.

^ It seems at least as likely that Virpur was called after the Rajput founder
Virbhadra.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

126

Chapter^XIII.

States.

Luna'va'da.
History.

STATES.

told, met the hare, and on the spot, now marked by the temple of
Bhavaneshvari Mata, built a town. The Sadhu was a devotee of
the god Luneshvar, and the Rana out of compliment called the
town Lunavada. A shrine of the god Luneshvar still stands
outside the Darkoli gate.^

It seems probable that Bhimsing was driven across the Mahi
by the increasing power of the Ahmedabad kings, aaid that he chose
the site of his new capital on account of its strong position.
The town is sheltered by a fortified hill, strong enough to defy all
the artillery that could at that time be brought against it, while the
rugged hill and tangled forest at the back of the fortifications afforded
a safe retreat, should the position be overpowered by superior force.
According to the bards, Bhimsing's successors were Dhundhalraja,
Dhavaldevsing, Viramdevji, Jesingdevji, Bhimdevji, Virprabalsingji,
Pratapsin^i, Vadoravan Virsingji, Viramdevji or Rdna Vir, Raghav-
devsingji, and Gangdasji. But, as the last prince appears from an
inscription on a brass image of the goddess Bhavaneshvari to have
flourished in 1469, it seems probable that he was Bhimsing's
immediate successor, and that the chiefs, given above, were the
. governors of Virpur subordinate to Lunavada. Grangdas was followed
by Uda Rana, who was succeeded by Raghavranasing or Vaghsingj
who according to the bards, was a contemporary of Mahmud Begada
(1459-1511). Soon after 1505, when Mahmud's general Bodi
Moghal took Balasinor, the Muhammadans seem to have pressed into
Lunavada, for in 1545 the Raja of Lunavada is said to have disturbed
the country in consequence of the Muhammadan encroachments.'
Vaghsing was succeeded by Malsing or Malorano, who, as shown by ,
an inscription in a Jain temple in the town of Lunavada, continued
to reign till 1575. His successor Vanvirji, as shewn in deeds of his
granting, ruled at least tDl 1594. He was followed by Akheraj^ at
whose death the direct line of Rajas from Bhimsing came to an end,
and Kumbho Rano of a collateral branch of the family was brought
from the village of Gandhari, and invested with the chiefship. Prom
an inscription on a stone, alleged to have been destroyed a few
years ago in a boundary dispute between Lunavada and Sunth, this
Raja reigned in the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was

' This tale of the ascetic and the hare is commonly told of the foimding of cities.
It seems probable that Bhimsing called his new town Lundvdda or Laranvida,
in honour of his relative Lavanprasid, chief of Dholka. Before the establiahment of
the Solan^is at Lun^vdda, Godhra was a state of considerable importance, said to
have been subject to Virdhaval, Kdna of Dholka. Inscriptions in the temples of
Dehjar and Kakachia, now in the Lun4v4da state, dated 1129 and 1331 a.d„ prove a
Kajput kingdom near Lun4v4da before the time of Bhimsing. The revolt of Dhundhal
the Rdja of Godhra in the beginning of the thirteenSi century, his defeat and
capture by Vastupil, the famous Vinia minister of Virdhaval of Dholka, and his
suicide, have already been noticed.

^ Major Watson's GujarAt, 52.

3 From a paper dated 1586, it appears that the Lnn&rida chief held the town of
Virpur and its dependent villages, now included in the state of Bildsinor, and had
vTrested some villages to the north from the Virpura Solanki Thikor of Meghraj, now
of Mori, a cadet of the R&jis of Idar. At the same time the country south of the
Fdnam, at present part of LunAvAda, does not appear to have at that time been
subject to the LunAvida chiefs. The supremacy over this part was contested by the
chiefs of Godhra, and a cadet of the Solanki family, who ruled at JhAnor in Thdsra.

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

127

succeeded by Jitsing, who appears from tis written grants to have
ruled as late as 1618. Jitsing was followed by Triloksing, of whom the
only known date is 1619. His successor was Dayaldas, who appears
from entries on written grants to hare reigned at Lunavada in
1629 and 1637. He was succeeded by Ohandrasingj whose reign
seems to have lasted at least as late as 1674. This chief was a
contemporary of Rao Punja of Idar, the son of Rao Jagannath whose
memory is cursed by the local bards. When Arjundas, the brother of
Punja, was meditating an attack on the Ahmedabad districts, he was
joined by the princes, kuvars, of Lunavada, Dungarpur, Bansvada,
and Devalia, who were returning from Ahmedabad. They attempted
to attack the town of Ranasan, but the Rehvar Rajputs of the place
fell upon them, and in the fight, the princes of Lunavada, Dungarpur,
and Devalia, as well as Arjundas were slain. Their bodies were
taken away and burnt by the surviving Ituvar of Bansvada.^ The
next Rdja was Virsing, whose land-grants bear date as late as
1711. He was succeeded by Narsing, who ruled from 1712
to 1735, and, in 1718 (Samvat 1774 or Shake 1640, Vaishdkh
sud 10th), laid the foundation of the Lunavada town wall. During
his reign in 1722, Haidar Kuli Khan the Ahmedabad Viceroy
levied a tribute of £8000 (Rs. 80,000) from the state of Lunavada.**
Narsing's successor was Vakhatsing, whose rule lasted from
1736 to 1757. At this time some Muhammadan generals from
Ahmedabad went to Virpur under Lunavada, and in 1 740, received
two horses and £300 (Rs. 3000) as tribute from Sultansing,
the agent of the Lunavada chief. ^ In 1746, Malharrao Holkar,
on his way back from his yearly raid into Malwa, was asked by the
Lunavada chief to join him in attacking Virpur. Holkar agreed
and Virpur was plundered.* Vakhatsing was succeeded by
Dipsing, who ruled from 1758 to 1782. In the first year of his rule
Sadashiv Ramchandra, one of the Peshwa's officers, marched
against Lunavada, demanded from Dipsing a tribute of £5000
(Rs. 50,000),^ and kept him a prisoner till the whole was paid.^
Dipsing was succeeded by Durjansalji, who ruled from 1 782 to 1 786
when he was murdered by his manager Desai Shankardas of Nadiad.
The Desai raised Durjansalji's brother Jagatsing to the chiefship,
and he continued in power for some months, though he was not
recognized by the people who looked on him as a usurper.
Meanwhile Khushalkuarba, the mother of Durjansalji, a resolute
woman, and with her the widowed Rani, made their escape,'

Chapter XIII.
States.

LunaVa'da,
History.

1 Rds M41a, 344.

2-6 Major Watson's Gujarit, 9S, 123, 132, 149, and 151.

' At this time the power of the Lundvdda chief was on the decline. They had
more powerful neighbours in the B^bis of BdUsinor, who not only encroached upon
their estate of Virpur, but held several villages in the north of LunAvAda. In 1717
a village in north Lun^vAda, granted by the Emperor Firokshir of Delhi to a religious
claimant, and in 1722 another village in the neighbourhood were given away by Sardir
Mahmud, the Bibi of BAlSsinor. The names of Malekpur, Khdnpur, and Rehmaii,
villages in the north of LunAvdda, still show how the power of the BAbi of BAUsinor
had spread. On the other hand the power of the Godhra chiefs and the LuiiAvAda
cadets, to the south of the river Pdnam, began to wane, and the result was that
what the LunivAda chiefs lost in the north and west they gained in the south and
south-east.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

128

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ldtua'va'ba.
History,

and returning shortly after murdered Shankardas, and raised
Pratapsing, the infant son of Durjansalji to the chiefship in 1 786.^

In 1803 the Bombay Grovemment entered into a convention
with theEaja, by which, on consideration of his furnishing a military
contingent, he was insured protection and relief from the tribute
hitherto paid to Sindia.^ This treaty was not ratified by the Grovernor
General.

In 1812, through the medium of the Political Agent in the Mahi
Kantha, the state entered into an engagement to pay the Gaikwar
a yearly tribute of £525 (Baroda Es. 6001) without the interven-
tion of an army.^ In 1816 Lunavada was plundered by the troops
of the Babi of Balasinor under Patel Bhagvandas, and in 1817,
an officer of the Pavars of Dhar named Bapu Eaghunath,* took
possession of the town, held it for twenty-seven days, and left
it only on the payment of a ransom of £4000 (Es. 40,000).
Mohansing^ one of Holkar's officers, the Patankar of Sindia's Panch
Mahals and other freebooters, as well as Arjunsing of Gadh, a
vassal of Bansvada, also levied contributions.^ A cadet of the Babi
family established himself in Virpur, and Sindia wrested from the
state a yearly tribute of £1065 (Baroda Es. 12,000).

In 1819 an engagement was mediated between Sindia and the
Lunavada chief, by which the British Government guaranteed the
payment of the tribute on condition that Sindia would not interfere
directly or indirectly in the affairs of the state.'

In 1822, the engagements of 1812 were renewed and made
lasting, and the state became formally entitled to British pro-
tection in accordance with the terms of the convention of the 3rd
of April 1820. Previous to this, in the year 1819, an engagement had
been entered into between Sir J. Malcolm on behalf of the British
Government, and Mansing Patankar on behalf of Sindia, in which the
British guaranteed the perpetual payment by Lunavada of the tiibute
of £1060 (Bdbdshm, Es. 12,001)^ on condition of Sindia's abstaining
from all interference in the state. By these two agreements
Lunavada came doubly under the protection of Government. The
political control was, in 1825, transferred from the Mahi to the Eewa
Kantha Agency. After the convention with Sindia, in 181 9, Shivsing,
who was out in rebellion against Fatehsing, appealed to Sir J. Malcolm.
A few months older than Fatehsing, he claimed on the score of
primogeniture. He was told that the British Government had

1 About 1789, during the reign of this chief, ' the Diwin' besieged Lundvdda, but
failed in his attempts to take the place. The Diwdn was probably DiwAn KangrAv
Aurckar of DhAr. Malcolm's Central India, I, 104.

2 Aitohison's Treaties (1876), IV. 277, 278.

3 Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 278, 279.

•» BApu RaghunAth with a rabble of an army amounting to eight or nine thousand
men plundered the country and levied contributions from Dungarpur to Nem^r.
Malcolm's Central India, I. 110.

s Malcolm's Central India, II. 422. » RAs MAla, 484.

!■ Aitohison's Treaties (1876), IV. 279, 280.

* The RAjAs of LunAvida and Suuth agreed to pay DaulatrAv Sindia Rs. 12,000
and Ks. 7000 Sdlamshdhi, 10th August 1820. Malcolm's Central India, II. 41

Oujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

129

decided, as a general rule,- to support the parties in possession, as
the only mode of reducing to order the numerous disturbed
principalities in central India. After this no further notice was taken
of Shivsing's claims. Fatehsing died childless on the 27th June 1849.
On the day of his death he adopted a collateral named Dalpatsing.
The boy was recognized as heir by all the relatives, and his
adoption was sanctioned by Government on the 29th August (1849),
Fatehsing's mother Nanibai being appointed regent. Dalpatsing
died while still young, on the 4th October 1851, and pending
the appointment of a successor, the regent Nanibai remained in
power. She died on the 23rd February 1852, before any decision
was come to on the question of succession. About three weeks
before her death, she had expressed a wish to adopt Dalelsing,
a collateral fourth in descent from Raja Narsingji, at the same time
she stated that Ajitsing was nearest of kin, but that being of weak
intellect she had passed him over. Ajitsing was fifth in descent
from Narsingji, but had been adopted by another Narsing, the
grandson of Raja Vakhatsing, and by a reference to the family tree
it will be seen that by this adoption he became the nearest living
representative of the reigning family. He however acquiesced in
the nomination of Dalelsing. The matter was referred for decision to
the Court of Directors, and final orders were not passed till the 8th
September 1852. The Court, in their despatch of the 1st July 1852,
ruled that the regent Nanibai had no right to confer political power
on her nominee. At the same time they had no objection to Dalelsing
being appointed Raja of Lunavada by the direct authority of the
British Government. Four collaterals objected to this arrangement,
Gemalbhai, Mehrubhai, Surajmal, and Makansing. It will be seen
from the family tree, that the common ancestor of these claimants was
Raja Jitsing. They were therefore one generation nearer the reigning
line than Dalelsing, and one generation more removed than Ajitsing.
The two first of these claimants were never seriously opposed to
the nomination of Dalelsing, and did not agitate their claims after
he was put in power, but Surajmal and Makansing were bitterly
hostile to him, and never recognized him as the rightful heir.
During the 1857 mutinies, Surajmal took advantage of the
disturbed state of the country, and went out in rebellion against
the Raja. He was secretly helped by Makansing, who supplied
him with funds and information. Finding that his designs against
Lunavada were thwarted, Surajmal eventually made his submission
to the Political Agent, who secured for him from the Raja a
perpetual yearly gi-ant of £110 (Rs. 1100). Surajmal died in the
following year. The Malivads a clan of Kolis, belonging to the
Klanpur sub-division, defied the authority of the Raja, and would
not allow a post to be established in the village of Khanpur.
During the sepoy revolt these Malivads grew so troublesome, that
Major Buckle, the Political Agent, marched against them, burnt
their village, and apprehending their ringleaders, blew one of them
from a gun. In 1 870 they again became restless, and Captain Salmon,
the Acting Political Agent, repaired to Khanpur, and arrested the
principal offenders, who were sentenced to various terms of imprison-

B 561—17

Chapter_XIII.

States.

LunaVa'da.
History.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

130

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States. .

LtjuaVa'da.
History.

Development,
1867-1879.

ment. Tte Sunth Eajas laid claim to a large tract of Lunavada
territory lying near tiieir boundary, and even asserted that the
true boundary of Sunth was an old well in the market of Lunavada
town. On the other hand Lunavada claimed part of Sunth, and
at one time built some forts in a few of its villages. To such
a height was the strife carried, that the Political Agent took the
management of the Lunavada - Sunth frontier into his own hands.
On both sides a strong desire to settle the dispute by force of
arms brought matters to a crisis. Some Arab and Pathan mercenaries
had been posted at both ends of the frontier, and a scuffle
took place, in which a few of the Lunavada troops were killed.
Both states now made large preparations, and a petty skirmish was
kept up for a day by the militia and horse, aided by the counsels of
the managers, kdrbhdris, and other officials of the two states. There
was more of shouting than of real fighting, and an amount of
ammunition was spent which, if properly used, would have produced
very serious effects. The fighting ended with the rout of the Sunth
force, and the burning of the post of Thamba in that state. The
Mehvasi Kolis on both sides would have prolonged hostilities, had
not the Political Agent interfered. An inquiry was instituted as to
the cause of this disturbance, and both the Eajas and their managers
were heavily fined for presuming to resort to arms. Eaja Dalelsing
died on the 19th June 1867. The day before his death he expressed
a wish to adopt Vakhatsing the son of Ajitsing, who, as stated above,
was the nearest collateral, but had been passed over by the regent
Nanibai in favour of Dalelsing. Vakhatsing was then in his seventh
year. Subsequently Motiba, the widow of Dalelsing, was allowed to
adopt Vakhatsing, paying the British Grovernment a fine, nazardrm, of
one year's revenue. The adoption ceremony was performed on the 7th
October 1867, and the Eaja has since been receiving instruction,
first at the tdluhddri school at Ahmedabad, and subsequently at the
Eajkumar College, Eajkot. He is married to Sarupkuar, the daughter
of the Maharaj of Kh^ndu, a Bhayad of the Eaja of Bansvada in
Mey war. He is entitled to a salute of nine guns, and has power to try
his own subjects for capital offences.

Between June 1867 and May 1879, the state was managed by an
Assistant Political Agent, who since May 1879, has shared its
administration with the chief, now nineteen years of age. During
these twelve years, a detailed field survey of the state was
completed, its boundaries demarcated, and its villages measured and
mapped. The state land has been classified, and its assessment
based on the survey principles current in British territory. Titles
to alienated lands are being inquired into, and a quit-rent of Bd.
on every 2s. (2 annas in the rupee) of assessment is imposed on all
rent-free lands unsupported by written grants. The crop-share,
bhdgbatdi, or Icaltar, system, which afforded the Thandars means
of illicit gain, has been superseded, and the land revenue has
consequently increased about twenty-five per cent. The customs
revenue has been nearly doubled by better supervision and the
greater facilities afforded to trade. Still the state is crippled by
excessive alienations and is barely able to pay its way, During the

Gujardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

131

last two years, from special marriage and famine charges, tlie debt,
■whicliliad been reduced to £6400, again rose to £10,400. Ciril and
criminal courts have been established, and the regular state police
has been incorporated into the Rewa Kantha federal force. Among
works of public usefulness, ten miles of a good road connecting the
town with the Godhra highway have been made, school houses and
police posts built, nine schools and a dispensary opened,, vaccination
largely introduced, and the town much improved by new buildings.

Chapter_XIII.

States.

Luna'va'da.

History.

The following is the Lunavada family tree :

(XI.) Dajrardis.!
Bhims ■

Jitsing.

(XV.)jVakhat8ing
(died 1735).
I

(Ninth in descent from Bhimsing the founder (1434) of Lun^Tdda)
(1629 - 1637).

(Xn.) Cbandrasing
(died 1674).

(Xirr.) Virsing
(died 1711).

(XIV.) Narsing
(died 1736).

(XVI.) Dipaing

(died 1782).

CXVII.) Durjansffl
(died 1786).

(XVIII.) Prat4psing.

SbiTsing. (XIX.) Fatelising
(died 1849).

Budlising.

Eealiorbliil.

Sahebsing,

Easalbhai.

I
Adsmg.

Bhimsing.

Daulatsing, GemalbhSi. Prlthibhii,

Jagji.

Ratansing.

Dhirajbh&i.

Padm&bh&i.

Karsmg.
i

Ajitaing.

Valchataing.

(the present
Chief adopted
by Dalelsing).

nr . ' ui-i- GnlSbsing. Malsansing, ...., , . ,^^,.

Mekrubhai. | Ajitsing Arjunbhdi.

Sdraimal. (adoptedby i

NairslDg). Dalpatsing
(adopted by
Fatensing).

Umedsing.
Kubersing.

S^Iamsing.

Daielsing
(the suc-
cessor of
Dalpat'
sing).

-I

(XX.) Dalpatsing
(died without heirs, 1851).

(XXI.) ]

(chosen by Court of Directors, 185a';
died 1867).

(XXIX.) Valihateing
(the present Chief J

The order of aucoession is indicated byBomaa numeralff.

^, J Otpiyiliia' ten predecessors, the names only remain. They are Bhimainir o»n»«. ttj.i *
EighavrinAsing or Vdghsing, Malsmg, Vanvirji, Akherij, KTimb^^^Ji^;^f^^T^^^'

Suutb, in the north-east of Rewa K£ntha, lies between 22° ?t^>
and 23° 33' north latitude, and 73° 45' and 74° 10' east longitude
It has an area of .394 square miles, and in 1872, had a population of

ScNTH.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

132

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

SUNTH.

Boundaries.

Aspect.

Eivers,

HUlg.

Climate.

Soil and
Produce.

Population.

49,675 souls or 126-08 to the square mile. During the five years
ending 1878 it had an estimated average yearly revenue of £10,470
(Rs. 1,04,700).!

It is bounded on the north by Kadana in the Rewa Kantha and
the states of Dungarpur and Bansvada under Meywar ; on the east
by the Jhalod sub-division of the Panch Mahals ; on the south by the
Rewa Kantha state of Samjeli and the Godhra sub-division of the
Panch Mahals; and on the west by the Rewa Kantha state of
Lunavada.

To the north the country is fairly flat and open, crossed by several
small streams on their way north to the Mahi ; to the south it is
rugged covered with long craggy lines of hills.

The Mahi flows through the north-west and the Panam through
the south-west corner of the state. Near the centre the small
stream of Chibota passes by the village of Sunth, and towards the
east the Suki flows past the town of Rampur.

A line of hills, of no great height, running in a curve from the
Pdnam river in the south to the Mahi in the north, divides the state
into two parts. Besides this principal chain, many other hills run in
parallel lines from north to south.

The climate is generally unhealthy and feverish. Between 1874
and 1876 the highest thermometer reading was 103 and the lowest
50. The average fall of rain during the five years ending 1878 was
41 '9 inches.^

The only arable land is in the valleys, where the soil, well charged
with moisture, yields without manure two crops a year of ordinary
grain. Indian corn is the staple, and besides it millet, pulse, gram,
wheat, banti, and in a few well-favoured spots sugarcane, are grown.
The forests yield a large supply of timber.

The 1872 census showed a total population of 49,675 souls or
126-08 to the square mile. Of the whole number 48,687 or 97-91

1 Sunth Balance Sheet, 1878,

Receipts.

£.

Disbursements.

Land Hevenne

Transit Duties, sdj/or

Cesaes

Excise

Law and Justice

Miscellaneons

6999
785
S83
438
114
947

Establishments

Police and Military

Jail

Education

Medical

Allowances

Public Works

State charges

Tributes and fixed payments

Surrey charges

Miscellaneous

Total ...

SS13
439

1008
167
881
903

1420
700
21
139

Total ...

8666

8987

» The details are SVSl in 1874 ; 40-84 in 1875 ; 47-28 in 1876 ; 2913 in 1877 : and
60-90 in 1878.

Gujar&t.]

REWA KlNTHA.

133

per cent were Hindus and 1038 or 2*09 per cent Musalmans. Of
the Hindus 701 were classed as Braliinansj 626 as Kshatris,
Rajputs; 745 as Vaishas, traders and merchants; 9309 as Shudras,
cultivators, craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes ; and 37,256
as unsettled tribes including 36,923 Bhils and 333 Naikdas. Of
the 48,637 Hindus, 833 were Vaishnavs, 64 of them Ramanujs,
170 Svaminarayans, and 599 Vallabhacharis ; 691 were Shaivs ;
185 Shravaks, 66 Ascetics, and 46,862 of no special sect. Of
the 1038 Musalmans 9 were Syeds, 67 Shaikhs, 140 Pathdns,
126 Bohoras, 3 Kabulis, 47 Arabs, 2 Baluchis, 61 Makranis, and
583 ' Others'. Of the whole number 126 were Sunnis and 912 Shias.
There were 578 villages or 1"62 to the square mile, with, on an
average, 85'94 persons to each village. Of the whole niunber, 534
had less than 200 inhabitants, 39 had from 200 to 500, 4 from 500
to 1000, and one, the town of Rampur between 2000 and 3000
inhabitants. There were 11,564 houses, or an average of 32'54 to the
square mile, and of 4"29 persons to each house. Of the houses, 1194
inhabited by 5311 persons, were of the better, and 10,370, with
44,364 inhabitants, of the poorer, sort.

Sunth was formerly divided into five districts, Fategad, Vankaner,
Malvan, Thamba, and R&mpur. These have lately been reduced to
two, the eastern and western divisions, nearly equal in size and
divided by a range of hills. Sunth in the west and Rampur in the
east division are the only places of any size.

The Sunth chiefs, Puvar or Parmer Rajputs by caste, claim to
belong to the Mahipavat branch of the famous Malwa dynasty which
boasts of Vikram of Ujain in the first century before Christ, and of
Bhoj of Dhar in the eleventh century of the Christian era.-^
According to the Sunth bards, whose accounts^ are full of confusion
and error, Jalamsing, a Pavar from mount Abu established his
power at, and gave his name to, the town of Jhalod in the Panch
Mahals. Jalamsing's successors were Jbajsing, Bikamsing, Udesing,
Pratapsing, and Jalamsing. The last of these chiefs was in
1247 defeated and slain by the Musalmans. His son Sant and his
brother Limdev, forced to leave Jhalod, retired to the hUla, and
after a few years (1255), Sant settled at the Bhil village of Brahmpuri,
changing its name to Sunth, and Limdev established himself at
Kadana. This may have been the date of the final settlement of
the Rajputs at Sunth. But some tombstones, pdlids, in the villages of
Sunth and Sukhsar, between Sunth and Jhalod, show that as early
as 1218 and 1221 there were fights in which Rajputs of the Padhiar
or Parihar clan with their chief Vijayadev were slain. According to
the bards, Rana Sant was succeeded by Navghan, Napaji, Prithising,
Suraji, Jesing, Akheraj, Gajsing, and Kumbho Rano, the last of
whom is said to have lived at the time of Ahmad Shah I, (1411-1443)

ChapterXIII.

States.

Sunth.
Population.

Sub-divigioas.

History.

' Malcolm's Central India, I. 99. The Mahipdvat branch of the Parmdrs is in
Meyw4r represented by the U&va of Bijoli, one of the sixteen higher nobles of the
Udepur Etna's court. Tod's Rdjasthiin, I. S5,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

134

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

SUNTH.

History.

of Alunedabad, and to have been defeated by Mm in 1443.^ After
this the state was tributary to the Ahmedabad kingSj and, in their
decline, received some additions of territory.^ On the transfer of
power to the Emperor Akbar (1572) the tribute seems to have been
changed into service with a contingent of troops.^ According to local
accounts Kumbho Rano was succeeded by Eamsingand Raymal, whose
successor Mandlik, as shown both in deeds and in temple inscriptions,
ruled at Sunth between 1536 and 1565. Mandlik was followed by
Surajmal, Eatansing, Prithising, and Sabalsing, who, from a copper
plate grant and the writing in a Mahadev^s temple in the village of
Batakvada, appears to have flourished between 1607 and 1635.
Sabalsing was succeeded by Gajsing, Mahvsing (1688 - 1704),
Prithising (1728-1357), andRatansingwhodiedin 1753. Ratansing
left some young sons and a daughter married to the Bansvada chief.
A party, coming from Bansvada to Ratansing's funeral feast, taking
advantage of the minority of the sons, killed three of them and
established their chief's power over Sunth. The youngest son
Badansing, a mere boy, was carried to the village of Malvan, and after
some time the Khant Kolis of Malvan taking ap his cause attacked
Sunth, drove out the Bansvada party, and established Badansing in
the chiefship. Badansing, a warlike prince, increased his estates at
the expense of his neighbour the Thakor of Gad, a cadet of the
Bansvada house, and continued to rule till after 1774. In 1803 his
successor Shivsing entered into a defensive treaty with Colonel
Murray, commanding the British forces in Gujarat, a treaty that was
subsequently disallowed "by Lord Oornwallis, the Governor General.*
Shivsing was succeeded by Kesarising who died in 1819, leaving
an infant son Gajsing who survived his father's death by only a few
months. The next Raja was Kaliansing who continued to rule till
1835. In 1819 when Kaliansing succeeded, Sunth was overrun
by Sindia's troops and would have either been annexed or laid
waste, had not the British Government stepped in, and, through
the medium of Sir John Malcolm, arranged that on condition of
Sindia withdrawing his troops it should pay a yearly tribute of
about £610 (Baroda Rs. 7000).^ The control of the state vested
in the British Government under this arrangement (1819) was
afterwards made over (1825) to the Rewa Kantha Political Agent.
Kaliansing died in 1835, leaving a son Bhavansing only three
years old. During his minority the state was managed by hia
mother Rani Rathodji Gulabkunvarba, a woman of strong will, but no
great ability.

' It seema probable from his successes in east Grujar^t and MAIwa that Ahmad
ShAh I. did force the Sunth chief to pay tribute. But in the Musalmdn historians no
reference to the Sunth chief has been traced, and the site pointed out as the battle-field
between Kumbho Rtoo and Sultto Ahmad is the same as that where are tombstones
bearing dates as far back as 1218 and 1221. That the Musalmdns were at some time
established in Sunth is shown by the remains of a mosque at Prathampur, five miles
south of Sunth (see p. 116).

2 Bird's Mirdt-i-Ahmadi, 1241. 3 Watson's Gujardt, 17.

* The terms of the treaty were the same as those for LunAv^da, Vide page 128 j
also Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 280,281.

* Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 279,280.

Gujarat.]

REWA KANTHA.

135

Bliavd,nsing came of age in 1854. Early in his reign lie tad much
trouble with the Khdnts who, presuming on the good services they
had done his forefathers, refused to obey the Raja and did much
damage by making raids into Lunavada and Kadana. Unable to
bring them to order Bhavdnsing applied for help to the Political
Agent, and with his aid and by his advice making some concessions
to the Khants, peace was restored. At the same time the Bhils on
the north and east frontiers fighting with the chief of Gad caused
much trouble. To overawe them a frontier fort named Patehgad,
or the fort of victory was built. But this measure failed and
order was not restored till the Political Agent established a frontier
military post with an officer under his own supervision. In 1865 the
Raja fell under the displeasure of Government for attempting, by
force of arms, to settle a boundary dispute with his neighbour the
Lunavada chief. In 1870 on the occasion of the visit of His Royal
Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, the Raja went to Bombay, and is
said to have been so struck with the city, that he determined to improve
the roads andbuildingsof his own capital. But in 1872, before any
progress had been made with the proposed works, he died. With
Bhavansing the main branch of the Sunth family came to an end.
The Sunth family has not the right of adoption. But the privilege
was granted to the widowed Rani and she after much search, for the
nearest collateral had branched off fourteen generations back, chose,
with the approval of Government, a son of the Sangavada family as
heir. At the time of his adoption the young Rdja was about twelve
years old. In the following year he was sent to the Rajkumar
College at Rajkot where he is still being educated (1879). In 1860,
when the Panch Mahals were transferred by Sindia to the British
Government, the Raja of Sunth became a British tributary paying a
yearly sum of about £610 (Baroda Rs. 7000) and receiving a robe,
sirpdv, worth about £3 (Rs. 30). He claims as choth, £60 12s. ^d.
(Rs. 606-2-7) from Panch Mahals and Bansvada villages.^ In
January 1879 the young chief was married to Dariavkuar, the
daughter of the chief of Bambora in Meywar.

The state of Sunth came under direct management in June 1872,
but it was not till April 1873 that permanent arrangements were
made for its administration. As it was more backward than
Lunavada no field survey was made. A circuit survey was
completed and its internal and external boundaries were laid down.
The revenue from some of the land was collected under the crop-
share, bhdgbatdi or Tcaltar, system. In consequence of the abuses
to which it gave rise, this system is being gradually superseded by
a holding, khdtdbcmdi, system under which the holdings are roughly
measured in half acres, bighds, and a money assessment is imposed.
An inquiry has been made into land alienations, and, under the rules
sanctioned for Lunavada, a quit-rent has been levied. The customs
duties have been revised and better supervision and greater trade
facilities provided. Civil and criminal courts have been established

' The amount of choth is as follows : from Gorddu in the Jhdlod sub-division,
Es. 44-2-7 ; from the Godhra sub-division, Rs. 170 ; from ChilkAri under B^nsvida,
Bb. 317 ; from Sanjeli, Bs. 75 ; total, Rs, 606-2-7,

Chapter XIII.

States.

Sunth.
History.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

136

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

SUNTH.

like those in Lund,vada. A regular police force, organized and
placed under tlie superintendent of tlie Federal Police, has, since
1873, greatly increased the security of person and property.
Eampur the chief town of the district has been connected with Grodhra
by a cleared road, part of which was made at Sunth expense. The
Lunavada road formerly impassable for carts has been much
improved especially where it crosses some small hills. In Eampur
good substantial buildings for the state officials and for a
dispensary have been built, and the town has been joined to its new
suburb, named Pratappura after the young chief, by a low level
bridge across the river Suki. A good road with a double row of
trees has been made from Sunth to the river Suki, and a few well
built new houses add much to the appearance of the town. By
sinking new and repairing old wells the water-supply has been
greatly improved. Schools have increased from one to seven, and
a dispensary, supplied with a good stock of medicines, is much
resorted to by the poor.

The following is the Sunth family tree :

J&msmg (1247).

ndi

Limdev (founded Ead&naX

( I ) Sant (founder of Sunth 1253).
( II ) Navghan.
ail) Nipiji.
(IV) Pritkising.
( V ) SurSji.
(VI) Jesmg.

(VII) AkherSj. (Jill) GdJBing.

(XIV) Batansing.

( IX ) Kumbho ESdo (defeated
by Ahmad I. in 1443).

( X ) E&msing.

( XI ) Eilymal.

I
( XII ) Manalik (about 1536 - 1566).

(XIII) Surajmal.
I

VAghsing.
( XV ) PritUsIng.
XV ) Sabalsing (about 1807 to 1636).

(XVII) Qajsjng.

(XVIII) MihvBingi (about 1688 to 1701).
( XIX ) Prithlsing (about 1728 to 1736).
( XX ) Eatanaing (died 1763).

( XXI ) Badansing (died about 1774).
( XXII ) Shiv sing.

(XXIII) Keaarising (died 1819).

(XXIV) SaJBing (died 1819).

( XXV ) KaliSnsing (died 1836).

(XXVI) BhavSnsing (died 1872).

(XXVII PratSpsing (adopted), the preient
Chief.

The order of succession is indicated by Boman numerals.
> One liet makes U&bvBing the great grandson of Jagatsing the brother of Oajsing

OiUar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

137

Ba'la'sinor, between 22° 53' and 23° 17' north latitude and 73° 17'
and 73° 40' east longitude, with an area of 150 square miles, had,
in 1872, a population of 41,984 souls or 279-89 to the square mile,
and in 1878 an estimated revenue of about £8000 (Rs. 80,000).i

It is bounded on the north by the Mahi Kantha states, on the east
by the Mahi, the Rewa Kantha state of Lunavada, and a part of the
Grodhra sub-division of the Panch Mahals, and on the south and west
by the Kaira district. It is about thirty miles long and from ten to
twelve broad. Except for a chain of rocky hills in the west, the
country is open.

Fevers are common, but the climate is on the whole healthy.

The soil is generally rich yielding millet, pulse, rice, oil-seeds,
wheat, gram, and sugarcane.

The 1872 census showed a population of 41,984 souls or 279'89
to the square mile. Of the whole number 37,829 or 90'10 per cent
were Hindus, and 4155 or 9'90 per cent Musalm^ns. Of the
Hindus 2911 were classed as Br^hmans; 848 as Kshatris, Rajputs ;
3178 as Vaishas, traders and merchants; and 11,714 as Shudras,
cultivators, craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes ; and
19,178 as unsettled tribes, 18,241 of them Kolis and 987 Bhils.
Of the 37,829 Hindus 121 were Ramanujs, 150 Vaishnavs, 2460
Vallabhdcharis, 4 Kabirpanthis, 583 Svaminarayans, 2473 Shaivs,
31,474 Unsectarian Hindus, and 564 Shravaks. Of the Musalmans
183 were Syeds, 1454 Shaikhs, 492 Pathans, 85 Moghals, 16
Memans, 280 Bohoras, 19 Arabs, 3 Makranis, and 1623 ' Others '.
Of the whole number 3875 were Sunnis and 280 Shias. There
were 249 villages or 1*66 to the square mile, with on an average
168 persons to each village. Of these 193 had less than 200
inhabitants, 33 from 200 to 500, 16 from 500 to 1000, 5 from 1000
to 2000, one from 2000 to 3000, and one, the town of Balasinor,
had' 8836 inhabitants, of whom 6263 were Hindus, and 2573
Musalmans. There were 9684 houses giving an average of 64'56
houses to the square mile and 4'33 persons to each house. Of the
total number of houses 2998 inhabited by 9755 persons were of
the better, and 6686 with 32,229 inhabitants of the poorer, sort.

This state is divided into two distinct and nearly equal parts, the
sub-divisions of Balasinor and of Virpur. Bounded on the north by
the Rewa Kantha state of Lunavada, on the east by Lunavada and
the Kaira district, on the south by Kaira, and on the west by
Aimedabad, the Balasinor sub-division consists of forty-one villages.
The soil is rich yielding millet, rice, pulse, oil seeds, wheat, gram,
and sugarcane. Except on the east, where the Mahi waters the
villages on its banks, ponds and wells are used for irrigation. The
Virpur sub-division is bounded on the north by Lunavada and the
Mahi Kantha state of Magodi, on the east and south by Lunavada,
and on the west by the Mahi Kantha petty states of Sathamba and
Grabat. Of its fifty-seven villages, which are much mixed with
those of Lunavada, thirty-eight are state, Ithdlsa, and nineteen

Chapter XIII,

States.

Ba'la'sinor,

Boundaries.

Population.

Sub-diyiaiona.

* This revenue iacludes a yearly claim on Kaira
£358 (Rs. 3580) and £85 (Rs. 847) from Lunivida,
B 561—18

villages amounting to about

[Bomliay Gazetteer,

188

STATES.

Chapter ZIII.

States.

Ba'la'sinor.
History.

private, indmi, held on service tenure. Tlie soil is ricli yielding
rice, millet, pulse, oil-seeds, and, in watered lands, a little sugar-
cane.

'Of the early history of Balasinor nothing certain is known.
It must have been part of the Solanki estate of Virpur, till in
1505, Virpur was conquered by Mahmud Begada's' general Bodi
Moghal. The fortunes of Balasinor are closely connected with those
of the celebrated Babi family, to which its present ruler belongs. The
founder of the family was Sher Khan who, about the middle of the
seventeenth century, was made door-keeper, hdhi, of the Imperial
Court, and in 1659 was appointed commandant, thdnddr, of the
troublesome Koli district of Ohuval in the north-west of Ahmeda-
bad. In 1693 his son Safdar Khan Babi was governor of Patau, In
1 703 when Prince Muhammad Azam Shah was appointed Viceroy of
Gujarat, the Emperor sent an order to decoy Durgadas Eathod,
governor of Patau, to Ahmedabad, and either confine or slay him.
This order Safdar Khan Babi offered to carry out, but failed owing
to the bravery of Durgadas' grandson who, covering his retreat with
the loss of his own and all his followers' lives, gave his grandfather
time to escape. Shortly after (1705) Safdar Khan, beaten by the
Marathas at Eatanpur in Eajpipla, was taken prisoner and
released only after paying a heavy ransom. About the same time
Durgadas Eathod again went into rebellion, when Safdar Khan, on
condition of being made governor, promised to kill or take Durgadas.
The offer was accepted, and, as from that time Durgadas is no
more spoken of, Safdar Khan would seem to have succeeded in killing
him. In 1717 when Haidar Kuli Khan was appointed deputy
Viceroy, a dispute arose between him and Safdar Khan, and in the
affray Safdar Khan's baggage was plundered. Collecting his
followers Safdar Khan attacked the deputy Viceroy, but was defeated.
In 1722 Muhammad Bahadur, son of Salabat Khan Babi, son of
Safdar Khan Babi, was, with the title of Sher Khan, placed in charge
of Sadra and Virpur. Three years later (1725), Safdar Khan Babi
died. In 1728, on the death of the governor of Junagad, Salabat
Muhammad Khan Babi was appointed deputy governor and sent
his son Sher Khan to act for him. Two years later Salabat
Muhammad Khan Babi died, and Sher Khan Babi, losing the govern-
ment of Junagad, retired to his estate of Grogha. In the same year
on paying his respects to the new Viceroy Abhayasing, he was
confirmed in his father's lands, and, in 1732, on the capture of
Baroda by the Viceroy, Sher Khan Babi was placed in charge of
the city. In 1734, while Sher Khan Babi was visiting Balasinor,
Mahadaji G-aikwar, brother of Pilaji, who then held Jambusar,
sending for aid to Damaji, marched on Baroda with a strong force.
On his way to relieve the city, Sher Khan was defeated by Mahadaji,
and forced to retire to Balasinor, leaving Baroda to fall into the
Gaikwar's hands. Shortly after, Eangoji the Deputy of Umabai,
quarrelled with Punaji Vithal, and asked Sher Khan Babi to help
him. To this Sher Khan agreed, but not having funds to pay his
troops, at first delayed, and afterwards plundered Mahudha and
Nadiad. Not mooting with Eangoji, Sher Khan then went
to Kapadvanjj and thence marched against the Maratha force.

Gigar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

139

The Mar^thas attacked hinij and in the conflict many men on both
sides were slain. Next morningj after an indecisive engagement,
fighting ceased, and at night Sher Khan stole off towards
Kapadvanj, joining Rangoji's forces. Shortly after (1746), Sher
Khan was wounded and forced to take shelter with Rangoji in
Kapadvanj. The town was besieged by the Gaikw£r, but, with the
help of Holkar, it was relieved. At Balasinor, in 1753, in a dispute
between Sher Khan Babi and his mercenaries, the Arabs for a time
took possession of the fortress on the hill. Shortly afterwards when
Sher Khan Babi was in his estate in Sorath, Sadashiv Ramchandra
went from Porbandar to Junagad, where he was joined by Sayajirao
Gaikwar. Sher Khdn Babi was there presented with some horses,
and appointed Maratha deputy. In 1 768 Sher Khan Babi died at
Junagad, and the nobles of his court seated his son Muhammad
Mohobat Khan in his place. At Balasinor Sher Khan Babi was
succeeded by his son Sardar Muhammad Khan who, opposing the
Marathas, was attacked by Sadashiv Ramchandra, and forced to
pay tribute. Two years later (1760), Balasinor was taken by the
Maratha commander Bhagvantrav and, in the next year, recovered
by Sardar Muhammad Khan Babi who, on condition of paying tribute,
was allowed to keep it.^

Sardar Muhammad Khan was succeeded by his son Jamiat Kh£n,
and he by his son Salabat Khan, during whose lifetime the
control over the state came into the hands of the British Government.*
Meanwhile both the Peshwa and the Gaikwar had established tribute
rights over Balasinor. In 1768, the Peshwa' s manager at Ahmedabad
levied a tribute of £300 (Rs. 3000), and this, afterwards increased
to £1000 (Rs. 10,000), passed to the British on the fall of the
Peshwa in 1817. In 1780, the Gaikwar imposed a tribute of £336
(Baroda Rs. 4000),^ and this sum was permanently fixed in 1813
at the settlement of the affairs of the Mahi Kantha tributaries at
Baroda Rs. 4001 and since commuted to £360 (Rs. 3601-2-7).*

In 1820 on Salabat Khan's death the succession was claimed by
his kinsman the Nawab of Junagad. This claim was disallowed,
and Abad Khan, Salabat's cousin and adopted son, was raised to
the chiefship, and the British opium regulations introduced into
his state.^ Abad Khan was only a boy, and as his state was
seriously mismanaged, he was in 1822 removed in favour of his elder
brother Idal Khan. After ruling nine years, Idal Khan was, in 1831,
succeeded by his son Joravar Khan. The disputed claims of
Balasinor and Lunavada on Virpur continued to cause much annoy-
ance, and in 1852, that both claimants might be under the same
authority, the supervision of Balasinor was transferred from Kaira
to the Rewa Kantha. As the contending parties would hear of

Chapter XIII

States.

Ba'ia'sinor.

History.

» Compiled chiefly from Major Watson's Gujarit,

2 During the time of this NawAb, Arjnnsing of Gad a vassal of the BAnevAda chief,
levied contribution. R4s Mila, 484.
« Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 228, 229. 4 Aitehison's Treaties (1876), IV. 258^

5 Aitehison's Treaties (1876), IV. 282.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Ba'la'sinor.
History.

no compromise, Virpur was managed by the Agency, and his share
of the revenues paid over to each claimant. At last when, in 1867,
Lunayada came under direct management, the whole Virpur
question was inquired into, and as it was found that the Balasinor
rights were much more important than those of Lunavada, the
sub-division was handed over to Balasinor, Lunavada being relieved
of a tribute of £247 (Rs. 2470).

The present Nawab Jorawar Khan is (1879) fifty-three years
of age. He has a brother Bahadur Khan and three living wives
Bibi Sardar Bakta., daughter of his uncle Abad Khan ; Chand Bibi,
the daughter of a Grhdnchi of Balasinor; and Gajinbax of Baroda.
He has two sons, Manovar Khan born in 1847, and Budhu Mia
born in 1870, and a daughter Dosi Bibi born in 1865. He is a
chief of the second class, and is entitled to a salute of nine guns.
He pays a tribute of £1108 (Rs. 11,080) to the British, and of
£360 (Rs. 3600) to the Gaikwar Government.

The following is the Balasinor family tree :

(I.) Sher Khiin

(the son of SalSbat £hto, the grajidson oi Shei' Ehdn I.)

(died 17bS).

(II.) Sarddr Muhammad,

(III.) JamiatKhin.
I

(IV.) Saldbat Khitn
(died 1820).

Daughter
(married to Naver Kh^iiji of Cambay).

Mohobat Kh&n
(obtained Jnn&gad).

(VI.) Idal Kh«n
(died 1831).

(V,) Ab4d Kh4n
(deposed 18^3).

JorAvar Khstn
(the present Chief).

Sansrbda

Mxbva's.

Boundaries.

Sankheda Mehva's, lying between 21° 49' and 22° 5' north
latitude, and 73° and 74° 10' east longitude, with an area of about
311 square miles, a population of 46,966 souls or 150 to the square
mile, and, during the five years ending 1878, an estimated yearly
revenue of about £11,000 (Rs. 1,10,000), includes twenty-seven
estates varying in size from one to 103 villages.

It is bounded on the north by Gaikwar territory, on the north-east
and: east by Chhota Udepur, on the south by Rdjpipla and Khandesh,
and on the west by Gaikwar territory. The twenty-seven Sankheda
Mehvas estates, much mixed among themselves and with Baroda
villages, may be roughly brought under eight groups, seven of them
Rajput, and one Musalmd,n. The Musalman group, Pfintlavdi, has
five villages, with an area of five square miles, and a yearly revenue
of £500, The following are the chief available details of the
Rajput groups.

Gujar&t.]

RBWA KANTHA.

Sankheda Mehvds Sajput Estates, 1879.

141

Tribute.

Group.

Btatb.

VlL-
LASUS.

Square
Miles.

Revenue
IN £..

£. >.

To whom.

M&ndva

164

2900

221 10

GaikwAr.

Shnnor

llj

1000

167 16

Ditto.

Agar

1000

18 12

Ditto.

Chohak.

Sindi^pura (A)
Devalia

4
1

SOO
100

5 14
Nil.

Ditto.

VanmAla (A)

lOJ

400

13 6

Ditto.

Alva (A)

560

6 14

Ditto.

Gad

103

128

2000

47 10

Clihota
Udepur.

fVajiria

2700

600 14

Giiliwir.

a < N^ng&ni

200

129 B

Ditto.

:S j Vtoan

■S"< Bihora

400

116 2

Ditto.

RA'THOD^i

6 2

Ditto.

>■ \ Dudhpur

3 10

Ditto.

i,Vori(A)

600

83 4

Ditto.

Choraugla

300

9 10

Ditto.

Cha'vda J

Bhilodia

900

24i 12

Ditto.

Bampura

360

142 4

Ditto.

(

Jiral K&insoli(A)...

340

33 6

Ditto.

GORI \

CJhiidesai- (A)

31 2

Ditto.

(

Nalia

3 14

Ditto.

{

Virpur

12i

1000

36 12

Ditto.

Da IMA.. 1

Began

46 2

Ditto.

)

Virampura

10 B

Ditto.

(

Uoh&d

90O

88 6

Ditto

SOIiANKI ..

NasvAdi

194

1000

109 2

Ditto,

Parmak ..

Palisni (A)

600

213 2

Ditto.

Nora.— The states maikcd (A) are at present under the direct management of the Political Agent.

The district is for tte most part open, only a small portion in the
south-east being hilly and covered with forest. It is crossed by
several rivers. Besides the Narbada which forms its boundary on
the south-east and south-west, there is, in the north, the Or or
Orsang, and through the centre, flowing from east to west, the Heran,
Asvan, and Men. Besides a few hills in the south-east on the bank
of the Narbada, a forest-clad range, from 250 to 300 feet high and
about four miles long, runs through the Nasvadi estate, parallel to
the course of the Asvan. Except in Gad, Palasni, and a few other
hilly and forest covered tracts, the climate of the Sankheda Mehvas
is on the whole healthy. There are three kinds of soil, alluvial,
light, and black.

The 1872 census showed a total population of 46,966 souls or
150'5 to the square mile. Of the whole number 44,883 or 95'57 per
cent were Hindus) 2066 or 4-40 per cent Musalmans; and 17
Parsis. Of the Hindus 528 were classed as Brahmans ; 4848 as
Kshatris, Rajputs ; 733 as Vaishas, traders and merchants ; 5586
as Shudras, cultivators, craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes ;
and 33,193 as unsettled tribes, including 12,595 Bhils, 11,925
Dhankas, 8043 Kolis, 496 Naikdas, and 134 Yalvis.

Of the 44,883 Hindus 850 were Vaishnavs, 38 of them
Ramanujs, 26 Virvaishnavs, 779 Vallabhd,charis, and 7 Kabir-
panthis ; 545 were Shaivs ; 60 Shravaks ; and 43,430 belonged to no
special sect.

Chapter XIII.

States.'

Sankheda
Mehva's.

Aspect.

Population.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

142

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

Sankheda
Mbhva's.

Population,

Chohdn Gfroup.

Of the Musalmans 2017 were Sunnis and 49 Shias. Of these 8 were
Syeds, 115 Shaikhs, 100 Pathans,52 Bohor£s,aud 1791 'Others.' The
17 Parsia were Shahanshais. There were 326 villages, or 0-75 to
the square mile, with, on an average, 144 persons to each village. Of
the whole number, 254 had less than 200 inhabitants, 60 from 200
to 500, 8 from 500 to 1000, and four from 1000 to 2000. There
were 9674 houses and 9468 enclosures, giving an average of 22'42
houses, and 21 '94 enclosures, khadkis, to the square mile, 4'85 persons
to each house, and 4"96 to each enclosure. Of the houses 807,
inhabited by 5101 persons, were of the better, and 8867 with 41,863
inhabitants of the poorer, sort.

Of the twenty-seven Sankheda Mehvas estates the following are
the chief available details. The Ohohan group of eight estates are
Mandva, Shanor, Agar, Sindiapura, Devalia, Vanmala, Alva, and
Gad. Ma'ndva, in the west, is bounded on the north by Shanor, on
the east and west by Gaikwar territory, and on the south by the
Narbada. It has sixteen villages with an area of sixteen and a half
square miles, and an estimated yearly revenue of about £2900
(Rs. 29,000), about £1500 (Rs. 15,000) from the estate, and the
rest from outlying lands in Baroda territory. It pays the Gaikwar
a yearly tribute of £221 10s. (Rs. 2215). The soil is chiefly a rich
black loam yielding cotton, millet, sesamum, sugarcane, and other
valuable crops. The bulk of the people are Kanbis and Rajputs.
Stretching into the rich Gujarat plain, Mandva suffered much
from Maratha encroachment. The right of the Mandva chief to
share both in the revenues and lands of Gaikwar villages shows
that his power once stretched nearly as far as the city of Baroda.
But long before the present century, its power had been reduced by
the separation of the Shanor villages. Mandva, at the meeting of
the Narbada and Orsang, is held in much esteem as a place of
pilgrimage. In consequence of the indebtedness of the Rana, this
estate was, between 1867 and 1879, under the direct management
of the Political Agent. To the north of Mandva, divided north and
south into two nearly equal parts by the Orsang, the six villages of
the Shanoe estate have an estimated area of llj square miles, and a
yearly revenue of about £1000 (Rs. 10,000). I^t pays the Gaikwar a
yearly tribute of £157 16s. (Rs. 1578). Bast of the river, the land is
rather wild and rough, but to the west it is rich, yielding cotton,
millet, oil seeds, sugarcane, and rice. The estate belongs to a younger
branch of the Mandva family. Agar, bounded on the north and east
by Vanmala, on the south by Kamsoli, and on the west by Vajiria, is
near the centre of the Sankheda Mehvas. Its twenty-eight villages
with an area of seventeen square miles, yield an average yearly
revenue of about £1000 (Rs. 10,000). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly
tribute of £18 12s. (Rs. 186). The soil is partly black loam and
partly sandy. It yields cotton, millet, oilseeds, rice, and gram. Most
of the people are Bhils, and the tillage is careless and backward.
Though still one of the largest of the Sankheda estates. Agar has
lost much by the allotment to younger sons of the estates ofVanm^a,
and Sindiapura, and, by the mortgage of many villages, to the
Virpur chief. On the high road, half-way between Agar and Vajiria,,

Gujar&t.l

REWA KlNTHA.

are the ruins of the fort of Kukrej, according to local story a place of

very great antiquity.^ Sindia'puea, like Vanmala the portion of a cadet

of the Agar house, has two separate parts, one surrounded by the

lands of the parent state of Agar, and the other between Vanmala and

Nasvadi. It has four villages with an area of four square miles, and

a yearly revenue of about £300 (Rs. 3000). It pays the Gaikwar a

yearly tribute of £5 14s. (Rs. 57). The estate has been under direct

management since 1870. The village of Devalia, one mile in extent,

held by a cadet of the Agar house, pays no tribute. Vanma'la,

held by cadets of the Agar house, is bounded on the north by

Gaikwar villages, on the east by Sindiapura, on the south by the

estate of Agar, anS on the west by Vora. Its eleven villages have

an area of ten and a half square miles, and a yearly revenue of about

£400 (Rs. 4000). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £13 6s.

(Rs. 133). Except a few isolated limestone hills, the surface is

generally flat, and the soil good. Its people are Bhils, lazy and

unskilled, leaving much of the estate under grass and brushwood,

and, only near their hamlets, growing patches of the coarser grains.

In consequence of the heavy indebtedness of the Thakor, the estate

has, since 1877, been taken under direct management. The Alva

estate of eleven villages, bounded on the north and south by Virpur

and Pantlavdi, on the east by Gaikwar villages and Pantlavdi, and

on the west by the village of Devalia, has an area of five square

miles, and a yearly revenue of about £550 (Rs. 5500). It pays the

Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £6 14s. (Rs. 67). Most of the people are

Bhils, rude and unskilled husbandmen. The chief crops are millet,

rice, gram, and oil-seeds. In consequence of the death of the

Thdkor, Alva was in 1878 taken under the direct management of the

Political Agent. Gad, in the extreme south-east, is bounded on the

north and east by Chhota Udepur, on the south by the Narbada

separating it from Khandesh, and on the west by the estates of

Palasni and Virpur, by part of the Tilakvada sub-division, and

Gardeshvar in Rajpipla. Including 103 villages, thirty-nine of them

assigned to the chief cadets, this estate, the largest in the

Sankheda Mehvas, has an area of 128 square miles, and an estimated

yearly revenue of about £2000 (Rs. 20,000). Through the Political

Agent it pays the Chhota Ddepur chief a yearly tribute of £47 10s.

(Rs. 475) . North of the Men the land is fairly flat and open. But

to the south it grows gradually rockier and more thickly wooded

till, near the Narbada, it is, except on foot, impassable. The

cultivators, almost all Bhils, are idle and unskilled. The chief

products are, in the rainy season bdjri, mag, banti, kodra, rice and

tuver in small quantities, and, in the cold weather, gram. The

Thakor, a Ghohan Rajput, represents a younger branch of the Chhota

Udepur house. The date of the establishment of Gad as a separate

family is not known. Their poverty and the wildness of their

country probably saved them from Musalman conquest. The

people are in every way most primitive. The chief used to live

ChaptiwXIII.

States.

Sankheda
Mehva's.

GhoMn Oroup.

1 See below, p. 162.

[Bomliay Gazetteer,

144

STATES.

Chapter^XlII.

States.

Sankreda

Mehva's.

Edthod Qroup.

as a common villager at G-ad in the wild country south of the Men,
He has lately moved north to Boriad, and built a larger and more
suitable house.

The seven Rathod estates form two groups, Vajiria and Chorangla<
In the westj on the south bank of the Heran river, lies Vajieia with
its five branches, Nangam, Vasan, Bihora, Dudhpur, and Vora,
With five of its villages entirely, and a sixth all but surrounded by
Gaikwar territory, the main body of the Vajiria estate is girt and
mixed with the lands of its five branches. Its twenty-two villagea
have an area of twenty-one square miles, and a yearly revenue,
including land and money rights in Gaikwar territory, of about
£2700 (Rs. 27,000). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of
£500 14s. (Rs. 5007). In the north-west, near the village of Vajiria,
is a cluster of hills covered with forest and broken by water-courses.
Most of the rest, though seamed with ravines, is level. In the west
the soil is a rich black loam yielding all the more valuable crops,
cotton, oil-seeds, millet, rice, and gramj towards the east the
lighter soil yields only such inferior crops as vol, mag, and kodra.
Before the sub-division reduced it to its present size, Vajiria was a
large estate, separating the Ohohansof Mandva and Shanor from those
of AgarandVanmala. In consequence of the imbecility of the Thakor,
this estate has, since 1866, been under the direct management of the
Political Agent. Of the five branches of the old Vajiria estate,
Na'nga'm is bounded on the north by Vajiria, on the east by Nalia
and Chudesar, on the south by the Narbada, and on the west by
some Gaikwar villages. Its four villages, divided among four share-
holders, have an area of three square miles and an estimated yearly
revenue of £200 (Rs. 2000). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute
of £129 8s. (Rs. 1294). The estate is very poor, the shareholders
little more than common husbandmen. The people are chiefly
Bhils raising only the coarser and more easily grown crops. The
date of the establishment of Nangara as a separate estate is not
known. Va'san, with seven villages divided into two groups, one on
the north and the other on the west of Vajiria, has an area of five
and a half square miles, and a yearly revenue of £400 (Rs. 4000). It
pays the Gaikwdr a yearly tribute of £115 2s. (Rs. 1151). The
lands of both groups are much broken by ravines, and the tillage,
almost entirely in the hands of Bhils, is poor and rude. The date
of the establishment of V^san as a separate estate is not known.
BiHORA, originally part of Vajiria or its offshoots Vasan and Vera,
includes twp villages, with an area of one and a quarter square miles,
and an estimated yearly revenue of about £80 (Rs. 800). It pays
the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £5 2s. (Rs. 51). The proprietor is
little more than a common husbandman. The Dudhpue estate of one
village, originally a part either of Vajiria or of its offshoots Vasan
and Vora, has an area of three quarters of a square mile, and a
yearly revenue of about £30 (Rs. 300). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly
tribute of £8 10s. (Rs. 35). The proprietor is little more than a
common husbandman. Vora, with four villages, divided into two
groups by the lands of Vasan, has an area of three and a quarter
miles, and an estimated yearly revenue of about £500 (Rs. 5000). It
pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £85 4s. (Rs. 852). As the

&Tijarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

145

country is much broken by ravines, the tillage area is small. The
estate is well managed, and Vora, the Thakor's head-quarters, is a
place of some trade with several Vania families. The date of the
establishment of Vora as a separate estate is not known. In
consequence of the death of the Thdkor in 1879, the estate has been
taken under direct management. Cut off from the rest of the Mehvas,
in Gaikwar territory some miles north of Vanmala and Nasvidi, is
Choba'ngla, the second main Rathod estate. Its seventeen villages,
with an area of sixteen square miles, are divided into six shares,
Chorangla with eight villages, Deroli with one, Vardle with two,
Sarsauda with three, and Timbi with two, and to the east Grhelpur,
a detached village on the border line between Gaikwar and Chhota
Udepur territories. The total estimated yearly revenue of all the
shares is £300 (Rs. 3000), and the yearly tribute to the Gaikwar
£9 10s. (Rs. 95). Throughout, the land is much broken with ravines
and water-courses. The crops grown are millet, cotton, pulse,
castor-seed, rice, and gram. There are a few Kanbis and Rajputs,
but the bulk of the people are Kolis.

The two Chavda Rajput estates of Bhilodia and Rampura lie
north-west of the Rathod villages. Bhilodia, bounded on the
north by the Rampura estate, on the west by the Rathod estates of
Vajiria, Vora, and Bihora, and on the south and west by Gaikwar
territory, is equally divided between two shareholders. Its eleven
villages have an area of nine square miles, and an estimated yearly
revenue of £900 (Rs. 9000). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute
of £242 12s. (Rs. 2426). The land is much broken by ravines.
But the soil is mostly a rich black loam yielding the better class of
crops, cotton, millet, oil-seeds, sugarcane, and rice. Ra'mpuea,
an offshoot of the Bhilodia estate, bounded on the north-east and
west by Gaikwar territory and on the south by Bhilodia, is divided
among three shareholders. Its four villages have an area of four
and a half square miles, and an estimated yearly revenue of £350
(Rs. 3500). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £142 4s.
(Rs. 1422) . As in Bhilodia the soil is rich and yields the better
kinds of crops.

South of the Chohan estates of Alva and Agar, between the
Asvan and the Men near the town of Tilakvada, is a settlement of
Gori Rajputs, now divided into the three estates of Jiral Kamsoli,
Chudesar, and Nalia. The eight and a half miles over which these
estates extend, though of rich soil are much broken by ravines, and
the people are very poor growing only the coarser grains. Of the
three estates, Jiea'l Ka'msoli, divided among three shareholders, has
ten villages, with an area of five square miles, and an estimated yearly
revenue of £340 (Rs. 3400). It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute
of £33 6s. (Rs. 333). In consequence of disputes among share-
holders it has been under direct management since 1870. Chudesar,
divided among two chiefs and fourteen under-shareholders, has
four villages with an area of two and a half square miles, and an
estimated yearly revenue of £81 10s. (Rs. 815). It pays the
Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £31 2s. (Rs. 311). It has been under
direct management since 1870. Nalia, a single village, divided
B 561—19

Chapter XIIT.
States.

Sankhkda
Mehva's.

Chdvda Oroup.

Gori Group.

146

STATES.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter XIII.

States.

Saneheda
Mehva's.

Ddima Oroup.

Solanhi Group,

Parmdr Group.

between two shareliolders, is one square mile in area, and has an
estimated yearly revenue of about £60 (Rs. 600). It pays the
Gdikwar a yearly tribute of £3 14s. (Rs. 37).

South of the Gori settlement^ beyond the river Men, is the Daima
Rajput estate of Uchad now divided into four parts, Virpur, Regan,
Virampura, and tJchad, covering between them an area of 26 square
miles. The Viepuk estate, originally including only the villages of
Virpur and Vasna near Uchad on the Narbada, was early in the
present century greatly added to by its chief Baji Daima. This man,
a noted freebooter, gave himself up at the time of settlement in
1825. He was then confirmed in his estate, and having a keen eye
for money-lending and other business, managed at the expense of his
neighbours, the chiefs of Uchad, Agar, and Rajpipla, to increase his
property to twenty-two villages, and made his family- one of the
largest landholders in the Sankheda Mehvas. The present Virpur
estate covers an area of twelve and a half square miles and yields a
yearly revenue of £1000 (Rs. 10,000), paying the Gaikwar a yearly
tribute of £35 12s. (Rs. 356). In the Agar part the soil is a rich
black loam yielding millet, cotton, and oil-seeds. In the parts
near Uchad the soil is lighter and the ground much broken by
ravines and water-courses. Here millet is the chief crop, but cotton,
oil-seeds, and, on the river banks, tobacco, are also grown. The
Rajpipla villages, hilly and timber-covered, yield only scanty and
coarse crops and the flowers and berries of the mahmda tree. Regan,
a single village west of Uchad, with a good Narbada frontage, is
divided among three shareholders. With an area of about four square
miles, it yields an a«inual revenue of £50 (Rs. 500), and pays the
Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £46 2«. (Rs. 461) leaving almost nothing
to the proprietors. In soil, crops, and people, it does not differ from
Uchad. ViEAMPUEA, on the Men to the north-west of Uchad, has two
villages with an area of one square mile and an estimated yearly revenue
of £70 (Rs. 700), paying the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £10 6s.
(Rs. 103). The proprietor is little more than a common husbandman.
The soil is partly black and partly light, growing crops of millet, toer,
and rice.; the people are mostly Bhils. Ucha'd, the parent state, now
brought down to twelve villages, has an area of eight and a half
square miles and an estimated yearly revenue of about £900 (Rs. 9000).
It pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £88 Qs. (Rs. 883). The
inhabitants are mostly Kolis growing the coarser crops.

To the east of the Chohan estates of Agar, Vanmala, and Sindiapura,
and bounded on the north and south by Gaikwar and on the east by
Palasni territory, is Nasvadi the only Solanki estate in this part of
the country. Its twenty-seven villages have an area of nineteen and
a half square miles/ and yield an estimated yearly revenue, of £1000
(Rs. 10,000), paying the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £109 2s.
(Rs. 1091). The Asvan river divides the estate into two nearly
equal parts, an open plain on the north but somewhat hilly and thick-
wooded in the south. The soil is fairly rich, yielding crops of millet,
cotton, rice, tuver, castor-seed, and gram.

To the east of Nasvadi and bounded on the north and south by
Gaikwar villages, and on the east by the Gad estate, Palasni is the

Gnjar&t.]

REWA KiNTHA.

147

only Parmer estate in the Sankheda Mehvas. Its fourteen villages
have an area of twelve square miles and yield an estimated yearly
revenue of £500 (Rs. 5000), paying the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of
£213 2s. (Rs. 2131). Like Nasvadi its soil is fairly rich, and yields
crops of the better grains. In consequence of the minority of its
chief, it has, since 1864, been under the direct management of the
Political Agent.

The P^ntlavdi estate, on the southern border of the Mehvas,
contains two distinct groups, one of four villages, between the Alva
and Vanmala estates, and the other of one village within the limits'
of the Amroli division of the Tilakvada sub-division. The
proprietors, called Khans, are supposed to be the descendants of
some military adventurer. But nothing is known of their origin or
of the date of their gaining the estate. Its five villages have an
area of five miles, and an estimated yearly revenue of about £200
(Rs. 2000). It is free from the payment of tribute. The soil is
black, the chief crops rice, millet, tuver, and kodra, and the people
mostly Kolis.

In the sacred hill of Pavagad centre the family histories of the
Sankheda Mehvas chiefs. Of the Thakors or landed gentry, few
can trace their families beyond the time, when a Chohan prince
reigned at Champaner, and drew the Rajput chivalry cf eastern
Gujarat to defend the great stronghold of Pavagad, when (1482-1484)
threatened by the armies of Mahmud Shah Begada. The fall
of Pavagad forced the Rajput chiefs to retire to the difficult country
between the rivers Orsang and Narbada. There would seem at first
to have been eight chief families, a Rathod at Vajiria ; Chohans at
Agar, Mandva and Gad ; a Daima at Uchad j a Gori at Jiral ; a
Solanki at Nasvadi, and a Parmar at Palasni. Later on, pressed by
the Musalmans, the chiefs of Vajiria, Agar, Uchad, and Jir^l,
embraced Islam, and became known as Molesalams, while those of
Mandva, Nasvadi, Palasni, and Gad, kept their lands without
changing their faith. In time the eight original families became
sub-divided. Younger branches of the house of Vajiria, taking their
shares of the family estates, established themselves at Vasan, Vora,
Nangam, Dudhpur, and Bihora ; in the same manner Vanmala and
Sindiapura separated from Agar ; Shanor from Mandva ; Regan,
Virpnr, and Vasan from Uchad ; and Chudesar and Nalia from
Jiral. Early in the eighteenth century, when Moghal authority was
weakened and Maratha supremacy not established, the Sankheda
chiefs were able to spread their power over the rich plain lands of
Gujarat enforcing tribute in land and money as far as the walls of
Baroda. But they had no long respite, for the Mard,thas, not content
with recovering the chief part of the revenues of the plain villages,
pressed the chiefs in their own lands, and by sending an armed force
wrung from them the payment of a yearly tribute. When Baroda
was in the hands of a strong ruler, the Sankheda chiefs were forced
to pay a regular tribute and to refrain from disorder and plunder.
But with a weak ruler at Baroda they burst out like a half-quenched
fire, and became the terror of the country. In 1822 the chiefs were
in rebellion, paying tribute only under the pressure of fire and sword.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Sankheda
Mkhva's.

History.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

148

STATES.

Saneheda
Mehva's.

History.

Chapter XIII. plundering villages, and stopping all trade highways. As it had
States. become responsible for public peace in Gujarat, the British

Government determined that the unruly chiefs should be brought to
order. The duty was entrusted to the Political Agent Mr. Willoughby,
who, in three years, in spite of the rugged diflScult country, hunted
down and secured all the rebel chiefs, and arranged with the Gaikwar
to grant them terms that would ensure their future subsistence. In
1825 the petty chiefs engaged to live peaceably ; to pay their dues
regularly ; to leave the settlement of the boundaries of their estates,
and of their rights in Gaikwar villages, to the British Government ;
and to give up all offenders who might take refuge in their lands.
At the same time (7th September 1825), the Gaikwar, after recording
what estates and villages should be included in the agreement,
stipulated that the tribute of the larger estates should be paid
through the British Government, and of the smaller through the
local authorities; he confirmed the proprietors in their existing
rights of every description ; conceded that all boundary and other
disputes should be settled through the medium of the Political
Agent; acknowledged their independence in their own villages,
and their rights of hereditary succession and adoption ; and left their
general control and management in the hands of the Political Agent.
During the fifty years that have since passed the Mehvasi proprietors
have given little trouble. They have ceased to be robbers and
freebooters, paid their tribute regularly, and accepted the Political
Agent's settlement of their boundary and succession disputes ;
they have spread tillage, and increased the resources of their
estates. Among the rights guaranteed to the Sankheda chiefs by
the Gaikwar in 1825, one of the most important was that of holding
share, vdnta, lands in Gaikwar villages, and, under toda girds and
other names, of recovering from them certain money dues. These
rights were enjoyed without question, till in 1862, Khanderao Gaikwar
ordered a levy of one-eighth (2 annas in the rupee) from all holders
of rentfree land and revenue claims. Against this order, the share,
vanta, and allowance, toda girds, holders under the protection of
the Rewa Kantha Agency appealed, and, after some discussion, the
Baroda court admitted that the order could not apply to claims
guaranteed by the 1825 settlement. The great question of tie
extent of the guaranteed claims was opened up, and a special
officer has now for some time been employed in examining them.'

PA'NDtr Mehva's. Pa'nd.U Mehva's. Except Umeta in the extreme west which
stands on the right bank of the river, the Pandu Mehvas estates,
including Dorka, Raeka, and Anghad forming, together the Dorka
Mehvas, stretch about fifty miles along the left bank of the Mahi
in a narrow broken line. This belt of estates has an area of 137^
square miles, an estimated population of 41,618 souls, and, during
the five years ending 1878, an average yearly revenue of £11,000
(Es. 1,10,000). Except near the Mahi, where it is cut with ravines,
the country is level. Besides the Mahi, that, flowing from north-

' Some details have already been given p. 66.

Gujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

149

east to south-west, forms the northern boundary of all the estates
except Umeta, the river Karad divides Mevali into two nearly
equal parts, and, in Jumkha, joins the Goma, which, flowing through
Sihora and Nahara, forms the south boundary of Grotardi. The
Mesri crossing Jesar, Chhaliar, Sihora, and Nahara, empties itself
into the Mahi at the town of Sihora.

The climate is generally healthy and the soil light, yielding where
well tilled, rich crops of millet, rice, and sugarcane.

The 1872 census showed a population of 41,618 souls or
S03'7 to the square mile. Of the whole number 40,095 or 96*34per
cent were Hindus, and 1523 or 3"66 per cent Musalm£ns. Of the
Hindus, 909 were classed as Brdhmans ; 2591 as Kshatris, Rajputs ;
598 as Vaishas, traders and merchants ; 32,382 as Shudras,
cultivators, craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes; and
3615 unsettled classes, including 235 Bhils and 3380 Kolis.
Of the -40,095 Hindus 1225 were Vaishnavs, 9661 Ramanujs, 37
Svaminarayans, 721 Vallabhaoharis, and 2612 Kabirpanthis ; 1895
were Shaivs ; 107 ascetics; 23,733 Unsectarian Hindus; and 104
Shravaks. Of the Musalmans 10 were Syeds, 49 Shaikhs, 216
Pathans, 3 Memans, 68 Bohoras, 15 Makranis, and 1156 were entered
as ' Others.' Of the whole number 1491 were Sunnis and 32 Shias.

The number of villages was 154 or 0-7 villages to the square mile,
and the average village population 270. Of the whole number 105
villages had less than 200 inhabitants, 31 from 200 to 500, 9 from
500 to 1000, 6 from 1000 to 2000, 2 from 2000 to 3000, and one
the town of Bhadarva, between 3000 and 5000 inhabitants. The
houses numbered 10,350 giving an average of 49' 7 houses to each
square mile, and 4 persons to each house. Of the total number of
houses 2493 inhabited by 9559 persons were of the better, and
7857 with 32,059 inhabitants of the poorer, sort.

The estates bordering on the river Mahi are twenty-six in number,
and though they only cover 187^ square miles, their river frontage
stretches along fifty-eight miles. In former times the Kolis
owned all the land in the Mahi valley, and were gradually
ousted by various Rajput tribes. Some estates in the Mehvas
are still held by Koli proprietors and others by Bariyas, who
claim a part Rajput descent, probably from discontented chiefs
who had ' gone out ' in revolt, and had married the daughters of
some of their Koli supporters. According to the common phrase,
they took water from a Bhil and so lost caste. The Pandu Mehvas
states form four groups, one owned by Kolis ; one by Bariyas ; one
by Rajputs ; and one by Muhammadans. There are seven Koli estates,
single villages divided among a number of shareholders. The estate
of Mevali is five miles in extent with one parent vUlage and four
hamlets. It is divided into four shares. The yearly income from all
sources is £210 (Rs. 2100), and the tribute paid to the Gaikwar £150
(Rs. 1500). The part to the north of the Karad river is the richest,
yielding crops of millet, cotton, oil-seeds, and sugarcane. The land
to the south of the river is untitled growing only grass. It borders
on the Gaikwar's S^vli sub-division, of which it once formed a part.

Chapter^XIII,

States.
Pa'ndu Mehva's,

Products.
Fopulation.

Sub-dirisions.

Koli Group.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

150

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.

Paitdu Mehva's.

KoU Qrmip.

B&riya Group.

North of MevaK, and separated from it by Jumkha and Ndhara, with
the Goma river on the south and Gaikw^r land in the west, is Gotaebi.
Divided among four shareholders, this estate, of one village and
three hamlets, is 1^ square miles in area, and yields a revenue of
£60 (Rs. 600), paying the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £42 10s.
(Rs. 425). Between the Pandu estate and some villages of Kalol in
the Panch Mahals, are the two small estates of Kasla Pagi, and Moka
Pagina Muvada. These estates, each of one village, have a collective
area of two square miles. The first, owned by five shareholders,
has a yearly income of £10 (Rs. 100), and pays the Gaikwar a
yearly tribute of £6 10s. (Rs. 65). The second, divided between two
holders, has a yearly income of £25 (Rs, 250), and pays the Gaikwar
a yearly tribute of £12 10s. (Rs. 125). The holders are poor, known
as pagis or trackers, and in no way above common husbandmen.
GoTHEA on the Mahi, bounded on the south by Gaikwar, and on the
north and east by Panch Mahals territory, is cut off from the rest of
the Mehvas. Divided among three Koli shareholders known as
hotvdlp, it has an area of If miles, a yearly revenue of £63 10s,
(Rs. 635), and pays the Gaikwar a yearly tribute of £20 2s. (Rs. 201).
Though most of the land is covered with brushwood, the village has
some importance from lying on the main road between Gujarat and
Malwa, and commanding one of the best of the Mahi fords. Besides
the Koh proprietors, some Syeds of Pali on the other side of the Mahi,
have a share in the village revenues. This estate is at present under
direct management. Pour miles south of Gothra is Jbsae, bounded
on the north by Gaikwar territory, on the east by Panch Mahals
villages, and on the south and west by villages of the Pandu Mehvas.
It has an area of 1^ miles, a yearly revenue of £40 (Rs. 400), shared
between four joint owners, and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £15 2s.
(Rs. 151). Watered by the Mesri river the soil is good, and, were
the owners less sunk in debt, could yield almost any crop . Anghad
the south-most village in the Mehvds, lying on the Mahi is cut ofE
from the other estates by Gaikwar land. With an area of 3^ miles,
shared among six joint Koli owners, three of them called kotvdls
and three pagis, it yields a yearly revenue of about £200 (Rs. 2000),
and pays a Gaikwdr tribute of £175 9s. (Rs. 1754|). The soil is
good, but the ground is much cut by ravines. A thrifty Kanbi
population could in a short time double the revenue. The Anghad
Kolis are notorious thieves. During the mutiny (1857 - 1859) time,
they gave such trouble that their village was moved to a more open
part of the country. One share of this estate is under direct
management. This finishes the Koli group. All the villages are
■wretchedly poor, burdened by the tribute, and cut into such small
shares that the hope of improvement is small.

The Bariya group includes seven estates, six of them close
together in the heart of the Pandu Mehvas, and the seventh and
largest, Umita, in the extreme west. Of these the largest and
probably the oldest is Sihoea. Divided into two by a strip of
Amrapur land, it has an area of 15 J square miles, containing 25
villages and hamlets yieldingayearly revenue of £1500 (Rs. 15,000),
and paying a yearly Gaikwar tribute of £480 2s, (Rs. 4801). It is
well watered, fronting the Mahi and crossed by the Mesri and

Gnjardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

151

Goroa. The village of Sihora, the seat of the Thakor who lives in
some state, is at the meeting of the Mesri and Mahi. It is a busy
little place with a large number of dyers and cotton printers. The
estate is furrowed by ravines, and much of the land near the river is
covered with brushwood. The tilled parts are rich, yielding cotton,
rice, millet, and gram. In a corner, formed by the meeting of the
Goma and the Mahi, between two parts of the Sihora estate to which
it probably at first belonged, is Amea'pur. This, with an area of two
square miles, a yearly revenue of £38 12s. (Rs. 386), and a Gaikwar
tribute of £20 2s. (Rs. 201), is divided among four shareholders.
The nature of the country and its crops are like those of Sihora.
Kanoea, to the south of Sihora and probably once a part of that
estate, has the Mahi on one side, and Gaikwar territory on the other.
Including Kanora, the estate, divided among eight shareholders,
has seven villages, an area of 3| square miles, a yearly revenue of
£220 (Rs. 2200), and pays a Gdikwdr tribute of £160 2s. (Rs. 1601).
Though the land is much cut by ravines there is an excellent Mahi
frontage, yielding cotton, millet, rice, and gram. Vaenol Ma'l
bounded on the south and west by Gaikwar land, lies between the
estates of Mevali and Sihora, to the latter of which it probably once
belonged. Divided between two shareholders, it covers an area of
3J square miles with, including Vamol Mai, five villages yielding a
yearly revenue of £100 (Rs. 1000), and paying a Gaikwar tribute of
£8 10s. (Rs. 85). This estate is chiefly grass land with patches of
tillage close to the hamlets. Na'ha'ea, with Gotardi to the north
and Mevali to the south, lies between Gaikwar territory and Sihora,
of which it is an offshoot. Divided into two parts by the Jumkha
estate and shared by two owners, it has an area of three square miles
vrith, includiag Nah^ra, five villages yielding a yearly revenue of
£60 (Rs. 600), and paying a Gaikwar tribute of £2 10s. (Rs. 25).
Watered by the rivers Goma and Mesri, its soil and crops are like
those of Sihora. At the meeting of the Karad and Goma rivers,
Jdmkha, probably an offshoot from Sihora, has Nahara on the east and
west, Gotardi on the north, and Mevali on the south. One square mile
in area, it has two villages yielding a yearly revenue of £40 (Rs. 400),
and paying a Gaikwar tribute of £5 2s. (Rs. 51). In soil and crops
Jumkha is like Sihora. The above six estates are all in one clusterin
the heart of the Pandu Mehvas. The only remaining estate held by
a Bariya proprietor is Umeta. On the Mahi, west of Baroda, formed
of two groups of villages, one of five in Kaira, and the other of seven
in Petlad, this estate dates partly from the close of the fifteenth and
partly from the close of the seventeenth century. According to their
family accounts, Jhanjarji a Parihar Rajput, flying from Champdner
at the time (1484) of its capture by Mahmud Begada, took refuge in
the Mahi woods, and, drinking water from a Bhil, lost his caste. Soon
afterwards, killing Jayasingji of Bilpar, he received from the Bhetashi
chief a gift of eight villages. About 200 years later (1694), the
headman of Umeta, unable to save his village from Koli robbers, called
for help to Jhanjarji's descendant, Dalpatsing, giving him four
villages in reward. At the division (1751) between the Gaikwar and
the Peshwa, the Peshwa got five, and the Gaikwar seven, villages.
In 1812 and 1820 the Umeta Thdkor was classed among the Mahi

Chapter^XIII.

States.

Pa'ndu Mehva's,

Bdriya Group.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

152

STATES.

Chapter XIII.

States.
Pa'ndu Mehva's.

Rajput Group.

Kantlia tributaries, and his tribute fixed at £500 (Rs. 5000) to the
British, and £255 4s. (Rs. 2552) to the Gaikwar. The group of
seven villages, in a broad bend of the Mahi, covers an area of twenty-
one miles, and yields a yearly revenue of £1800 (Rs. 18,0Q0). Its
soil is light, and yields good crops of cotton, oil-seed, sugarcane,
millet, and rice.

In the Pdndu Mehvas there are three chief Rajput estates,
Bhadarva, Dhari, and Raeka. Bha'daeva, pleasantly placed on the left
bank of the Mahi about the middle of the line of the Mehvas estates,
covering an area of twenty-seven square miles, with, including
Bhadarva, thirteen villages,has a yearly revenue of £3600 (Rs. 36,000),
and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £1907 12s. (Rs. 19,076). The soil is
light and rich. Bhadarva, once a very large estate, has suffered
from two causes. The Muhammadans and the Marathas have
greatly reduced its size, leaving in thirty-three villages only a fourth,
vdnta, in some of which the Bhadarva chief has husbandmen of his
own and distinct civil and police powers. Again, of the villages that
still form part of the estate, a large share of the land has, by the
chief's carelessness, been granted away, or, without any proper title,
allowed to be held as private land. Dhaei, the northmost of the
Pandu Mehva* estates, surrounded by Panch Mahals territory, and
divided among six shareholders, has seven villages with an area of
3| miles, a yearly income of £200 (Rs. 2000), and a Gaikwar tribute
of £95 2s. (Rs. 951). The soil good, though rocky in parts, yields
miUet and rice. Ra'eka, on the Mahi to the south of Bhadarva, has
an area of 2^ square miles, a yearly income of £150 (Rs. 1500), and
pays a Gaikwar tribute of £120 (Rs. 1200). Two-thirds of the
estate belong to Solanki proprietors, and one-third to the Pagedar
of Baroda to whom they sold it many years ago. The land is much
cut by ravines running into the Mahi ; but the soil is good, yielding
crops of millet, rice, tobacco, sugarcane, and oil-seeds. Two shares
of this estate are under direct management. The Chohans established
themselves at Chha'liae at a very early period. The original limits
of the estate embraced Vakhtapur and Rajpar, which were
subsequently assigned to cadets of the family. It now contains an
area of eleven square miles with twenty-four subordinate villages
and hamlets. It has a yearly income of £1200 (Rs. 12,000), and pays a
yearly Gaikwar tribute of £340 2s. (Rs. 3401). Except for Gaikwar
territory on the north it is surrounded by other Mehvas estates.
The river Mesri runs through it. Close to Ghhaliar, the land is rich
and well tilled, though much broken by ravines. In the north-east
it is poor, the husbandmen mostly Bhils, growing only inferior crops.
Vakhta'pub, to the north of Ohhaliar and separated from it by the
river Mesri, has two joint owners, an area of 1^ miles, a yearly
income of £50 (Rs. 500), and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £15 2s.
(Rs. 151). Its soil and crops are like the poorer parts of Ghhaliar.
Ra'jpae, on the Mahi to the north of Chhffiar of which it once formed
part, has an area of 1^ miles, a yearly income of £37 10s. (Rs. 375),
and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £5 2s. (Rs. 51). It grows millet, rice,
and tobacco. To the north of Rajpar lies the Rathod estate of Itva'd
with its offshoots Moti aind Ndni Varnoli. With the Mahi on the west.

Gnjardt.]

REWA KANTHA.

153

Itvad has Gaikwar villages on the north and east, and the two
Varnolis on the south. Divided among four shareholders, it has an
area of six square miles, with eleven villages, a yearly income of
£150 (Rs. 1500), and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £60 2s. (Rs. 601).
But for want of capital its light soil could yield all the better crops.

The two Vaenolis, big and little, moti and ndni, about a
square mile each in extent, lie between Itvad and Rajpar. Their
income is respectively £29 (Rs. 290) and £20 (Rs. 200), and the
tribute they pay to the Gaikwar £10 2s. (Rs. 101), and £2 10s.
(Rs. 25). There are two proprietors in Moti and one in Nani
Vamoli. The soil and products of both are like those of
Itvad. The estate of Poicha lies on the Mahi between Kanora
and Bhadarva. Its area is 3f miles, and it has five dependent
hamlets. Its yearly revenue is £210 (Rs. 2100), and it pays a
Gaikwar tribute of £150 2s. (Rs. 1501). Of its six shareholders,
five are Vaghelas and one is a Jadeja Rajput. Owing to heavy
tribute arrears, they are miserably poor. As in other neighbouring
estates the soil is rich but wants capital, and is much cut with
ravines.

The last two estates are Pandu and Dorka. Pa'ndu is bounded on
the north and west by Chhaliar, on the south by Gaikwar territory,
and on the east by Kalol in the Panch Mahals and by the small
estates of Moka Pagi and Kasla Pagina Muvada. Divided between
two chief, and a number of under, sharers, Musalmans known as
Khanzadas, it has an area of nine square miles, a yearly revenue of
£520 (Rs. 5200), and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £450 (Rs. 4500).
The soil is good^ and, if the shareholders were not miserably poor,
could yield all the best crops. All their available property sold and
mortgaged, they have no capital to spend, and owe heavy tribute
arrears. Half a share of Pandu is under direct management.
The small estate of Doeka. lies on the Mahi between Raeka and
Bhadarva. Divided among five Kanbi sharers, its one village has
an area of 2^ square miles, a yearly revenue of £240 (Rs. 2400),
and pays a Gaikwar tribute of £110 9s. (Rs. 1104 8 as.). The Kanbi
owners have sunk to the level of village headmen, the revenue is
collected by Government officials, and any surplus is spent for the
general good of the village community. It is the seat of the
Thandar of Dorka Mehvas.

The Pandu Mel^vas, like other lands along this part of the Mahi's
course, seems to have been originally peopled by Kolis. The Kolis
say that they are sprung from Yauvanashva, and remained for many
generations on the sea shore in the delta of the Indus. At length
by the goddess Hinglaj, under the leadership of Sonang Med,
they were brought to the Nal. Sonang Med had twelve sons, each
of whom founded a clan. The race gradually spread itself over
Gujarat settling, amongst other places, on the banks of the Mahi,
whose rugged ravines suited them well, sheltering them from the
punishment of their raids and robberies in the richer parts of the
province. Raja Karan Solanki (1064-1094) has the credit of being
the first Rajput ruler who checked their thievish habits. His success
was only for a time, and since then, whenever the central power
B 561—20

CliaptwXIII.

States.
Pa'ndd Mbhva's.

History.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
154 STATES.

Chapter XIII. lias been weak, tte Malii Kolis tave burst out in tbeir old excesses.

States. Towards tlie close of tbe fifteenth century, apparently after the break

p , ^ , up of their centre at Champanerj many of the Rajputs driven out of

■ the richer lands, fell back on the rugged Mahi banks, and drove the

Kolis out of their villages. Bhadarva and Dhari fell to the Solankis,

Itvad and Yarnoli to the Rathods, and Chhaliar to the Chohans.

About the same time some Musalmans, calling themselves Khanzadas

settled at Pandu, and took four or five villages.

Able to spread their power and harass the country during the
decline of the Ahmedabad dynasty (1536 - 1583), they were again
brought to order under the Moghals, and though troops had from
time to time to be sent against them, their power in no way spread,
till, early in the eighteenth century, the quarrels of its officers and
Maratha attacks loosened Moghal rule. During the rest of the
eighteenth century, all these communities, whether under Koli,
Rajput, or Musalman leaders, attacking the rich Baroda plain villages,
levied large tributes under some of the many forms of blackmail.
The estate of Bhadarva, the two small estates of Raeka, Dorka,
and Anghad, and the larger property of Umeta in the west were,
with other greater states, under the Graikwar agreements of 1812
and J 820, placed under the protection of a British officer. The
remaining estates were, under the convention of 1825, included among
the tributaries placed under British protection. Under this agreement,
estates, though only single villages divided among many shareholders,
were allowed to hold the position of tributary chiefs, the amount
of tribute being settled in consultation with the Gaikwar officers.
This assessment would seem in some cases to have been fixed at too
high a sum. The estates have ever since been struggling with debt,
and, compared with most of the country round, the district is
miserably poor.

Kadaka. Kada'na, bounded on the north and east by the Meywar state of

Dungarpur, on the south-east and south by the Rewa Kantha state of
Sunth, and on the south-west and west by Lunavada, has an area of
ISO^quare miles, with, in 1872, a population of 12,689 souls or 97"6
to the square mile. During the five years ending 1878 it had an
estimated average yearly revenue of about £1500 (Rs. 15,000).

A round compact tract, Kadana is rugged, covered throughout
with hills and forests. In the south, near the touni of Kadana, the
Mahi breaks through the range of hills that, in a curved line,
crosses Sunth and Kadana. On the west the Bhadar, and on the east
the Subna, small streams dry except during the rains, flow south
into the Mahi. The Kadana hills are of no great height, seldom
more than six or seven hundred feet. Like the Sunth hills separated
by narrow valleys, their forest-clad sides and rocky ridges, broken
by very few; passes, stretch north and south in parallel lines.

The climate is feverish and unhealthy. In the extreme south-west,
on the left bank of the Mahi, the land is open and rich ; but to the
north, except a narrow fringe along the river bank, most of the
country is barren and rocky.

Gujardt.]

REWA KlNTHA.

155

The 1872 census showed a total population of 12,689 souls or
97'6 to the square mile. Of the whole number 12,381 or 97'58 per
cent were Hindus, and 308 or 2'42 per cent Musalmans. Of the
Hindus 555 were classed as Brahmans ; 335 as Kshatris, Rajputs ;
66 as Vaishas, traders and merchants; 2814 as Shudras, cultivators,
craftsmen, labourers, and depressed classes ; and of unsettled tribes,
8611 Bhila. Of the 12,381 Hindus, 54 were Vaishnavs, 2 of them
Ramanujs, 59 Vallabhacharis, and three Kabirpanthis ; 1753 were
Shaivs ; 8 Shravaks ; and 10,556 belonged to no special sect. Of
the 308 Musalmans 296 were Sunnis, 61 of them Syeds, 33
Shaikhs, 158 Pathans, and 44 ' Others^, and 12 were Shias, all of
them Bohoras. There were 100 villages or 0'64 to the square
mile, with, on an average, 126'89 persons to each village. Of the
whole number 79 had less than 200 inhabitants, 19 from 200 to 500,
and 2 from 500 to 1000. There were 3002 houses or an average
of 19"25 to the square mile, and of 4'20 persons to each house. Of
the houses, 459 inhabited by 2205 persons were of the better, and
2543 with 10,484 inhabitants of the poorer, sort.

According to the bards, Kadana was, about the middle of the
thirteenth century, established as a separate power by Limdevji,
a younger brother of Jalamsing, a descendant of Jalamsing
the founder of the town of Jhalod in the Panch Mahals. Since then
in spite of its small size, the wildness and poverty of the country
and the bravery of its Bhil inhabitants, have saved it from being
swallowed up by its larger neighbours or from being forced to pay
tribute to the paramount power. Except that it was always at war
with Sunth, Dungarpur, or Balasinor, nothing of the history of
Kadana is known till the accession of the present chief .^ Parvatsing
was never on good terms with the late Raja Bhavansing of Sunth.
Bhavansing claimed sovereignty over hijn and in 1856 complained to
the Political Agent that the Thakor had introduced an infant into
his house as his own son. The Thakor admitted that the child was
not his. He pleaded that it belonged to the family and that the
other members of the hhdydd were willing that it should be adopted
as his heir. The Raja of Sunth failed to prove that he had any
power to interfere with the Kadana chief. Under these circumstances
Government allowed the Thakor to adopt the child and declared his
state independent of Sunth.

Saujeli, an estate of twelve villages, in the north of Bariya, has
an area of 33| miles, and in 1872, a population of 2532 souls or
74*68 to the square mile. It is bounded on the north by Sunth,
on the east by Jhalod, on the south by Bariya, and on the west
by Grodhra. The land is fertile, but nearly all the people are Bhils
and poor husbandmen. The villages are wide scattered, made up

Chapter^XIII.

States.

Kada'na.

History.

Sanjeli,

1 According to the family bards the present chief is the twenty-first in succession.
The names are : Limdevji ; Madesing ; Dharuji ; SultAnaing ; ShArdulsing ; Bhimsing ;
Khdnsing ; Bhojrdj ; RAghavdAs ; Ashkaran ; Surajmal ; Limbji ; Jagrupsing ;
Anupsing ; Umedsing ; Dolatsing ; Devising ; Surajmal ; Bhimsing ; Vakhatsing ;
Parvatsing.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

156

STATES.

Chapter XIII.
States.

Sanjeu.

History.

of separate homesteads, surrounded by fields, and sometimes
separated by forest lands. The staple grain is maize ; millet, hanti,
pulse {mag, Phaseolus radiatus, and tuver, Cajanus indicus), and iu
the cold weather wheat and gram are also raised. The climate is
generally unhealthy. The 1872 census showed a population of
2532 souls or 75-58 to the square mile. Of the whole number 2484
or 98*10 per cent were Hindus, and 48 or 1'90 percent Musalmans.
Of the Hindus 8 were classed as Brahmans ; 12 as Kshatris,
Rajputs; 32 as Vaishas, traders and merchants; 62 as Shudras,
cultivators, craftsmen, labourers and depressed classes ; and 2370
as unsettled classes including 2130 Bhils, 224 KoUs, and 16
Naikdas. The number of villages was 41 or 1*22 to the square
mile ; the average village population 61'77. Of the whole number,
39 villages contained less than 200 inhabitants, and 2 had from
200 to 500. There were 713 houses or an average of 21*28 to the
square mile, and 3'55 persons to each house. Of the houses 10 with
27 occupants were of the better, and 703 with 2505 occupants of
the poorer, sort.

The Sanjeli family belongs to the clan of Songada Chohans.
The founder of the house appears to be Satrasalji, who in some
remote period emigrated from Meywar. As the present Thakor is
fortieth in descent from Satrasalji, a period of more than one
thousand years must have elapsed since the settlement of these
Bajputs in this part of the Bewa Kantha. The bardic accounts
state that Satrasalji reigned at Rajpur,a village near Kesarpur, now
in the territory of the Raja of Bariya, in 1 159 (S. 1215) in the time of
Shahab-nd-din Gori. He and his successors claim to have held the
northern districts of Bariya from the frontiers of Sunth to the river
Panam, and to have kept much of it till the time of Sardarsingji,
who was in 1 789 killed by the Bariya chief. The son Bahadursing
was taken by his mother to Jobat, where her father ruled. When
he came of age, Bahadursingji returned, and was slain in a fight
against Bariya. • He was succeeded by Jagatsingji, a notorious free-
booter who was famous for a tuft of hair on his back like a tail.
During his time, through the help of the British Government, the
Bariya chief agreed to allow the Sanjeli chief to keep twelve villages
within his own control and entirely free of Bariya. These villages
are now in the undisputed possession of the Thakor, and the
boundaries of the estate having been lately defined, all pretence
of interference on the part of Bariya has been removed. The
chiefs of Sanjeli were known by the name of the forest chiefs, Jangli
Rdjds. He died about 1858, and was succeeded by his adopted son
Pratapsingji, the present Thakor of Sanjeli.

Oujard^t.]

CHAPTEE XIV.

PLACES OF INTEREST.

Anamdera, in Mansel in the south of Rajpipla, has a small Chapter XIV.

mosque said to have been built to celebrate the birth of Shaikh Places of Interest.

Aimad the saint of Sarkhej near Ahmedabad,^ and the friend and AwAMnimA

adviser of Sultan Ahmad I . (1411 - 1443) . anamdera.

Ba'la'sinor, north latitude 22° 59, east longitude 73° 25', the chief Ba'la'sinob.
town of the Balasinor state, with, in 1872, a population of 8836
souls, stands near the Shedi river, about forty-one miles east of
Ahmedabad. Surrounded by a stone wall with flanking bastions
and four gates, the town is ill placed, commanded by a high table
land, and made hot and close by a wall of rocks that half encircles it.
The town is of little interest, its main street narrow and winding
with no noticeable buildings. Outside of the north gate is a large
picturesque lake with a raised causeway running along its western
edge, and, on the east bank, surrounded by trees, a summer house of
the chief's. On the high ground to the north, overlooking the lake,
stands the Nawab's palace, a half fortified building four stories high,
with turrets and a small flimsy-looking cupola perched on the top.
From the town, a sudden rise leads to a massive gateway with
flanking towers, and, beyond the gateway, a winding road passes to
the palace plateau. Standing in a square court surrounded by stables,
the building is mean and tawdry, its appearance marred by
casual additions made from time to time as more room has been
wanted. It is now seldom used by the Nawab whose ordinary
dwelling is in the garden house by the lake side. On a hill, called
Dev Dungaria, about three miles (2 kos) from the town, a fair is
held every year on Shrdvan vad 8th (August) in honour of Dev
Dungaria Mahadev,

Ba'riya,orDevgadBa'riya,north'latitude22''42', east longitude Ba'riya.

73° 51', the chief town of the Bariya state, with, in 1872, a population
of 2891 souls, lies almost in the centre of the state, about half a mile

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 315. An account of the saint is given in the Bombay
Gazetteer, IV, 291.

Ba'riya.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
158 STATES.

Chapter XIV. from the Panam riverj in an angle formed by two lines of hills^ one
Places of Interest, *^^ Devgad hill, stretching towards the north^ and the other,
eastwards. The third side was enclosed by a wall by the late Raja
Prithiraj. The gorge, at the angle through which the drainage
of the enclosed valley escapes, is closed by a gate. In the lower
part of the town is a lately built jail surrounded by a garden.
About the end of the eighteenth century (1785), the town seems to
have been of considerable importance. It was a much frequented
thoroughfare between Gujarat and Malwa, the tolls levied at its
gates generally exceeding £2000 (Es. 20,000) a year. It is described
as neat, containing many brick-built and tile-roofed houses, with
decent orderly inhabitants, well dressed shopkeepers, and clean
soldier-like troops.'^ Seen from the north or east, Bariya is a
handsome town. In front, are a stone gateway and clock tower, and
flanking walls stretching to the right and left ; beyond, are the roofs
of houses, and beyond the houses, some way up the Devgad hill, is
the palace, its white walls standing out from the wooded background.
The main street is broad and straight and the houses irregular
and picturesque. The palace, built and included within the walls
of the fort by the late Raja, and lately improved by the addition of
a garden, is a large rectangular three-storied structure with domed
comer towers. From an inner courtyard, staircases lead to the
diHerent rooms. That on the left leads to the Darbar room, large,
with doors opening on a verandah, and with a grating overhead
from which the ladies of the palace, themselves unseen, can look
down upon the doings in Darbar. Though somewhat badly aired
and lighted and with steep troublesome staircases, the buUding has
the merit of strength, congruity, and completeness. Though on the
whole a handsome well built town, its position is low and unhealthy.
On the south and west the hills shut out the breeze, and, on the high
ground on the other side, not a quarter of a mile from the east gate
of the town, a lake, as high as the roofs of the houses, fills the town
with damp and fog. Of late years much has been done to keep the
town clean and drain and metal its roads, and a dispensary has
been opened with free medicines and advice. Still the towns-
people sufier much from rheumatism and fever.

On Dasera day 4'so sud 10th (September -October) about 6000
or 7000 Bhils, Kolis, and other lower classes, with a sprinkling of
Brahmans and Yanias, meet in Bariya to see the Raja's procession,
as he goes to worship the shami, Mimosa suma, tree. All receive
presents, the low caste people a pound each of Indian com flour
or of pulse, and the higher castes, all that is wanted to make
a good meal.^ The people of the lower classes, dressed in their
gayest, pass the day in drinkiug, dancing, and flute-playing! In
former times, no one, even though accused of murder, could be
arrested on Dasera.

' Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, III. 378,380. Hamilton (1818) describes it as neat
with many brick-built and tiled houses. Description of Hindustan, I. 685.

* This, called pahka shklha or complete ration, includes, besides flour, rice and
pulse, butter, oil, sugar or molasses, and spices,

Gujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

159

Barita.
Fort.

Ba'va'pik.

Cha'nod.

Partly on tlie Devgad hill and partly on the plain, stands the Chapter XIV.
Bariya fort, neither bastioned nor armed, about two and a quarter places oflntereBt.
miles round, and with walls about ten feet high on the plain and six
feet on the hill slopes. Behind the Raja's palace rises a hill about
600 feet high considered inaccessible and so not protected by walls.
Within the fort are four unfailing wells. There are three main
gates and one sallyport. The north gate is out of order, the east
gate is in ruins, and the south gate in repair ; the sallyport is on
the west. On all sides the walls are ruinous. Even if in repair the
fort is a place of no great strength. On the top of the Devgad hill,
a small white building contains the tutelary deity of the Bariya
house. The story is, that three generations after the fall of
Champaner, when Dungarsing was looking for a site for his capital,
one of his Bhils cutting wood on a hill struck his axe against two
round stones. Blood gushed out and the axe was shivered;
Hearing his story Dungarsing visited the spot, called it Devgad or
God's fort, installed the stones as the tutelary deity of the hill, and
founded his capital at its foot. The stones are still, with great
pomp, visited by the Raja every twelfth year.

Ba'va'pir, a pass in the Rajpipla hills, takes its name from a
celebrated Muhammadan saint buried there about 900 years ago.^

Cha'nod,^ north latitude 21° 58', east longitude 73° 30', in the
extreme west of the Sankheda Mehvas, lies on the right bank of the
Narbada, close to where it meets the Or, near the town of. Mandva,
about thirfcy-five*miles north-east of Broach. At this point, the banks
of the river are so seamed by ravines from eighty to one hundred feet
deep, that Mandva and Chanod, though on two neighbouring knolls
on the same side of the river are, in the rainy season, sometimes for
days, completely separated. To remedy this evil, the towns have,
within the last few years, been joined by a wooden bridge. From
the north, wheeled vehicles can reach Chanod only by two roads,
one the main road from Baroda through Dabhoi, and the other from
Sinor, which join in a ravine about half a mile from the town.
Up this ravine the road passes, steep and winding, to the plateau
where the buildings of the town are somewhat closely huddled
together. Even in the narrow crooked market street temples are
mixed with shops, and the outskirts are reached only by narrow foot
paths. Almost all the buildings are religious, temples, monasteries,
and rest-houses. Devotees at all times fill the place, and, on high
days, overflow from temples and rest-houses into booths, lanes, and
streets. From the want of space, the ruggedness of the ground, and
the division of ownership and authority between the Gaikwar and
the Mandva chief, Chanod is at all times very hard to keep clean.
At the great gatherings the dirt and smells, then always at their
worst, greatly mar the effect of the high rugged temple-crowned
banks, the broad deep river, and the shores and boats crowded with

' Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, II. 118.

2 Lassen derives Chdnod or Chdndod from the Sanskrit Chandrodaya, moon-rising.
Ind. Alter. I, 137.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
160 STATES.

Chapter XIV. bands of gay-dressed worshippers. The chief temples' are those of
Places ^Literest ?apileshvar Mahadev, Kasluvishvanath Mahadev, Chandika Mata,
Adityeshvar Mahadev, Eamchandraji Mahadev, Shri Mata Verai,
Cha'nod. Kamleshvar Mahadev, Narmadeshvar Mahadev, Shri Hanumanji,

and Shri Markandeshvar Mahadev. Three flights of steps lead
from the town to the bed of the river. On one of these, of very
handsome cut stone still unfinished, the ex-Gaikwar spent a sum of
£20,000 (Ks. 2,00,000).

The chief fair, held in honour of the image of Sheshashai,
lasts for five days from Kdrtik sud 13th to vad 2nd (November),
the sud 15th being the chief day of the fair. It is attended by
about 1200 pilgrims from all parts of Gujarat, who bathe in the
river and worship the image. Only articles of food worth about
£70 (Rs. 700) are sold. The police is managed by the Rana of
Mandva, who, in return, levies a small fee from the stallkeepers.
Sheshashai, well carved in black stone, is a four-handed Vishnu,
sleeping on the back of the serpent Shesh or Anant, with his consort
Laksbmi sitting by his feet, and the four-mouthed Brahma springing
out of a lotus from his navel. The story, as given in the Narbada
Puran, is that once a demon, daitya, becoming very powerful and
troubling the gods, Brahma besought Vishnu to destroy him. Vishnu
followed him to the Vindhya hills, and there with his discus slew
him. But the demon had some Brahman blood, the discus blackened,
and Vishnu was guilty of Brahman murder. On his way back,
Vishnu, at Chakrapani Aro on the Narbada near Chanod, washed his
discus and it came out pure. Thinking that the water would clear
aU sins, he stayed there and for many years slept on the waters.
Long after, a Brahman dreamed that Vishnu wished to leave the river,
and, searching for him, found this black stone figure. A temple was
built and the image installed, and is still served by the Brahman's
descendants. Additions have, from time to time, been made by the
Gaikwar. The temple income is about £250 (Rs. 2500) a year, the
Gaikwar contributing £136 10s. (Rs. 1365), the Rana of Mandva
£50 (Rs. 500), and the offerings of the pilgrims amounting to about
£70 (Rs. 700). After paying the charges, generally about £200
(Rs. 2000), the Brahmans share the surplus. On Ghaitra sud
15th (March), at the specially sacred meeting of the Narbada and
Or, another great fair is attended by from 20,000 to 25,000 pilgrims
from all parts of Gujarat and even from Malwa. Grain, sweetmeats,
metal pots, and cloth, worth altogether fi-om £400 to £500
(Rs. 4000 - 5000) are sold. The pilgrims bathe in the river, perform
ceremonies for the souls of the dead, and worship at the temples round
Chanod. It is specially famous as a place of cure in spirit diseases.
People possessed by spirits come trembling from head to foot
and, making an offering to Narayan, are freed from their tormentor.

' In 1820 Hamilton found the chief temple finished in a style much superior to the
generality of Hindu edifices, the central spire being light and in good proportion, and
the dome interior forty feet in diameter, painted by Ahmedabad artists. All the
temples abounded with exterior sculpture, but very inferior to that of Elephants and
CMj. Description of Hindustan, I. 712.

Oujar&t.]

REWA KANTHA.

161

The legend of this place is, that once a prince of the Solar dynasty
named Karnav, when out hunting, by accident shot a Brahman.
Sorely distressed, he set out to perform some penance, and sleeping
under a banian tree, near the meeting of the Or and Narbada, woke
to see the Brahman he had shot pass by. Recognizing the man, he
gave him all he had, and, on Ohaitra sud 15th (March), washing and
making ready a pyre, burnt himself on the river bank. His soul
was wafted to heaven, and those who bg,the there on that day are
cleansed from all sins, even the sin of killing a Brahman.

Dev Mogra, in Rajpipla, has a temple of Pandhar Mata. Every
year on the Maha Shivratri day, Mdgh vad 14th (February), a fair
is attended by about 200 pilgrims, mostly Bhils. During the two
days it lasts the Bhils drink large quantities of liquor. Every year
the chief of Sagbara sends to this temple thirty pots of Kquor, a
silver necklace worth about 2s. (Re. 1), Is. (8. as.) worth of flowers,
a girl's robe, hodhni, four goats, and one male buffalo. The food and
drink are first offered to the goddess and then consumed by the
worshippers.

Dhuiukhal, in the east of Rajpipla, has, about two miles to the
south, the remains of a few temples with fairly well-carved images.^

Ha'mpll, on the right bank of the Narbada, in the Chhota Udepur
state, at the extreme south-east corner of the Rewa Kantha, of local
importance as a place of pilgrimage, has a ruined fort on a site
of some strength, having the Narbada on the south and hiUs and
ravines on other sides. This was the place of refuge, and for some
time the head- quarters of the Champaner Chohans who are now
represented by the Chhota Udepur chiefs. A road has lately (1875)
been opened from Udepur. For the last eight miles it is little more
than a bridle path.

Jeyor, in the Nandod sub-division of Rajpipla, on the banks of the
Narbada, has a stone and cement temple of Kumbheshvar Mahadev,
held in local esteem, from its mention in the Narbada Puran. The
Brahman who performs the worship is paid a yearly sum of £40
(Rs. 400) by the Rajpipla state. His Highness the Gaikwar also
contributes towards the expenses of the temple. Besides of Shiv,
two images of small and large Panotis are worshipped with hbations
of oil. The offerings are shared by Tapodhan Brahmans who worship
the image of Shiv. On every Saturday in Shrdvan (July - August)
a fair is held, attended by about 300 people, from villages within a
distance of about twenty-five miles, the number rising on the last
Saturday, if the weather is fair, to about 2000. The people come
in the morning, bathe, worship the image, and leave in the afternoon.
A few Bohoras, confectioners, betel-leaf sellers, and grocers open
stalls and daily sell goods worth from about £5 to £70 (Rs. 50 - 700).

Kada'na, the chief town of the Kadana state, with, in. 1872, a
population of 1478 souls, lies about eighty miles east by north from

Chapter^XIV.
Places of Interest.

Dev Mooba,

DhUMEEAIi.

HA'MPff.

Jeyob.

Kada'na.

B 561—21

Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII, 315.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

162

STATES.

Chapter XIV.

Places of Interest.

Kada'na.

KUKEBJ.

LlMODRA.

Ahmedabad, on a ridge that runs along the left bank of the Mahi
shortly after it leaves the hills. The fortified house, or fort, where the
Th^kor lives, stands on the extreme point of the spur that overlooks
the town, but is commanded by hills both in front and rear. The walls
are about ten feet high, and three quarters of a mile round. There are
three small guns, but no bastions. The approach, up a winding bridle
path through a gateway with flanking towers, leads into a narrow
courtyard with out-houses along three sides, and the fourth filled
by the Thakor's dwelling. This building is two stories high. The
basement is occupied by store and cook rooms, and in the upper
story, reached by a ladder trap-door, are the Darbar room, where the
chief lives and receives guests and retainers, and the ladies' rooms,
approached by a side passage. A winding stone staircase leads to a
terraced roof.

Kukrej, between the towns of Agar and Vajiria in the centre
of the Sankheda Mehvas, has the ruins of an old fort. According
to the local story this is the site of a large city, Kambavati
Nagari, in Chohan days joined to Champaner by an underground
passage. Neither written records nor the size of the ruins supports
these local legends. There is a story that near a masonry well much
treasure was once hid, and that about forty years ago workmen, sent
by the Agar chief to dig out the treasure, were driven away by
winged serpents. In 1868 the place was again opened in presence
of the Political Agent. After digging to some depth, a stratum of
solid sandstone was reached, and as this did not appear to have been
ever disturbed, no further search was made.

Limodra, in Eajpipla, has a temple of Eikhavdevji. From an
inscription on the footstool of the image, it appears to have been set
up on Mdrgshi/rsh sudl4<th, S. 1120 (December 1064). The image
was lost till 1864 (S. 1920), when it was found in a field in Limodra.
The Raja built a temple and placed the image in it on Mdgh vad 5th,
S. 1928 (Febmary 1872). The expenses of the temple are defrayed
from the rents of some houses and shops attached to it amounting
to £15 (Rs. 150) a year, and the offerings of the Jain devotees who
flock there every year on Edrtih sud 1 5th (November) and Mdgh vad
5th (February). The fair lasts for a day and is attended generally
by not more than 150 pilgrims. The only trade is in grain sold for
food to the amount of £5 or £6 (Rs. 50 - 60) . An account of the
Limodra carnelian mines ^ is given above (p. 12).

' Barbosa (1514) (Stanley's Edition, 66) mentions that at Limadura was found a stone
from which they made beads for East Africa (Berberia). Extracted in large blocks, it
was white as milk with some red. Its colour was heightened with fire by great artists
who pierced and manufactured the beads in various fashions, oval, octagonal, and round,
and made knife-handles, buttons, and rings. Cambay merchants took them to seU
in the Bed Sea ports, whence, by way of Cairo and Alexandria, they went to Europe
and throughout Arabia, Persia, and Nubia. Much chalcedony, which they called
babagore, was also found in this town. Beads made of it and worn so as to touch the
skin, were able, it was said, to preserve chastity. In 1666, Thevenot (Voyages, V. 37)
mentions that at Cambay many agates were brought from a village called Nimodra
on the Broach road. Writing in 1820, W, Hamilton says: The mines are situated

Gujarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

163

Luna'va'da, north latitude 23° 8', east longitude 73° 37', with, in
1872, a population of 9662 souls, the chief town of the Lunavada state,
stands about four miles east of the meeting of the Mahi and Panam,
and sixty-three miles east from Ahmedabad. The town, founded in
1434 by Rana Bhimsingji, is backed by a hill about 300 feet high,
which, gradually rising from the west, ends in a ridge running
north and south with a very steep fall to the east.

In 1718, Raja Narsingji greatly added to the strength of the place
by building a wall, that, crowning the ridge, ran down the steep hill
sides, and, turning inwards, met at the western or Mahadev gate.
The walls are from eight to ten and a half feet high and about two
and a quarter miles round. There are ten or twelve ruined bastions,
and four gates, to the north, east, south, and west. The Raja's palace
is in the fort. About the beginning of the present century, Lunavada
was a great trade centre for merchants passing from Ratldmgad
and other parts of Malwa to Ahmedabad and central Gujardt. The
artisans were particularly skilful, and arms and other military
accoutrements were easily procured. In 1803, it supplied Colonel
Murray's army so effectually, that, had not the fortress of Dohad
in the Ranch Mahals been ceded without a struggle, he would have
estabHshed his magazines and hospital at Lunavada.^

The streets are crooked and narrow. The main street, winding
through the market and the busiest quarter of the town from the
Vansia gate in the north to the Darkoli gate in the south, is lined
with houses, two or three stories high, many of them adorned with
overhanging deeply carved wooden balconies. Built on the slope of
a hill, the lower parts of the town, till lately when drains were built,
suffered severely from flooding.

The palace, on a terrace at the top of a wall about forty feet high,
looks from below very high and imposing. It is a long narrow build-
ing, with a solitary domed tower to the south, and a west front three
or four stories high, full of irregular outstanding mulUoned windows.
The chief entrance passes through two gateways, and then rises
sharply to the terrace on which the palace stands, where, through
a third gateway, a courtyard is entered from which stairs lead to the
different parts of the building. Except the Darbar hall which has
lately been added, the rooms are small and dark, and the staircases
steep and difficult. Immediately behind the palace terrace, rises a
covered way leading to its crest, a way of escape for the inmates

Chapter XIV.
Places of Interest.

Lcna'va'da.

in the wildest part of the jungle and consist of numerous shafts worked down perpen-
dicularly, about four feet wide, the deepest being about fifty feet. Some extend at the
bottom horizontally, but usually not far, the pits being naturally incapable of being
worked a second year, on account of the banks falling down by the heavy rains and
necessitating the opening of new ones. The soil is a little gravelly consisting chiefly
of quartz sand reddened with iron, and a little clay. The nodules weigh from a few
ounces to two or even three pounds, lying close but generally distinct, not being in
strata but scattered profusely through the masses. On the spot they are mostly of a
blackish olive colour like common dark flints. Others are somewhat lighter, and
others still lighter with a slight milky tinge. Description of Hindustan, I. 714, 715.
' Hamilton's Description of Hindustdn, 684,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

164

STATES.

Chapter XIV.
Places of Interest.

Luna'va'dA.

Ma'kni.

Ma'ndva.

MoEAir.

of tte palace, sHouH ttey at any time be hard pressed. At the foot
of the palace wall is a pleasant garden. Opposite it is the jail, and,
immediately outside the gate, are the school and dispensary.

Outside the south gate are the shrines of the gods Luneshvar,
Vishveshvar, Ranchhodji, and the monastery of Nath Bava. The
monastery is surrounded by a loopholed quadrangular wall with
flanking towers, and, if it were not commanded by the town walls,
would be a place of some strength. It was founded, in 1756 (S. 1812),
by a Grosai named Manhordas, who is said to have suddenly appeared
at Lunavada and to have worked many miracles by the help of his
patroness the goddess Annapuma.

On the Panam river, at a short distance from Lunavada, are held
two fairs, one on Shrdvan vad 8th (A.ugust) at the temple of
Mehlolia Mahadev, and the other on Mdgh vad I4th (February) at
the temple of Kumareshvar Mahadev. They are attended by 4000
or 5000 people, from Lunavada and the Bhil and Koli villages round,
who pay the Brahmans %d. (| cunna) a head. Only dry dates,
cocoanuts, and other articles of food are sold.

Ma'kni, nine miles north-east of Sankheda, in a rich country with
specially fine trees and surrounded by fields of sugarcane, seems to
be the Mangni which Sultan Ahmad I. fortified in 1419.^ It has a
fine large lake, with a brick and cement wall on the south-west, and
was evidently once a most thriving and populous place.^

Ma'ndva, in the estate of the same name, in the extreme west
of the Sankheda Mehvas, stands on a high knoll overlooking the
Orsang river at its meeting with the Narbada. It is separated from
the town of Chanod by a deep ravine lately bridged over.' The
plateau on which the town stands is high above the river Orsang,
and its edge, abutting on the river, is, during the rains, liable to be
eaten away by the violence of the stream, and, as the ravines round
the town have eaten deeply into the earth, there is constant danger
of the <vhole or a part of the knoll being carried away. Except
through the ravine no wheeled vehicles can approach the town. The
only building of any pretension is the residence of the chief.
Remains of bastions and flanking towers show that once, probably
before the spread of the Gaikwar's power, the family was much
richer and more prosperous than it now is.

Mohan, or Ali Mohan, about twenty miles south of Udepur,
was, during the seventeenth century, the capital of the family of the
present Chhota Udepur chief. After losing Champaner (1484),
they fled to Hamph on the Narbada, and seem, about the middle of the
sixteenth century, to have moved to Ali Mohan as a place more likely
to attract trade. The ruins of the fort stand on a conical hill, from
200 to 300 feet above the plain. Below it a line of circumvallation
includes what must once have been the town. The plain is strewn

1 Watson's Gujarat, 35.
' See above p. 159.

2 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 98.

Gajarit.]

RBWA KANTHA.

165

with the ruins of houseSj gateways, and wells. The only remains are
two broken-down round towers.

Moklldi Gha'nta, in Rajpipla, has about four miles off, on a high
bank of the Narbada, two very old temples, one of Shulpanishvar
Mahadev or the trident-bearing god,i the other of Eanchhodji.
For their support, the Baroda state pays £70 (Rs. 700) a year, and
the offerings of the pilgrims come to about £10 (Rs. 100) more,
Rajpipla pays about £30 (Rs. 300) for the maintenance of the
temple of Ranchhodji and the feeding of those who visit all the holy
places on the Narbada. Here, every year, on Ohaitra vad 30th
(April) a fair is held. Pilgrims from all parts of Gujarat begin
to gather from Ohaitra vad 11th, till, on the fair day, the number
reaches about 4000. Beyond sweetmeats and food there is little trade.

Mota Sa'ja, in the Jhagadia sub-division of Rajpipla, has the
temple of a saint named Dnyaniji. The story is that Gorakhji, the
well known disciple of the great ascetic Machhindar, in an
interview with the reformer Kabir at Benares, asked him to give
him divine knowledge, dnydn. Kabir replied, that, as he was
a follower of Machhindar, he could not instruct him in his present
life, but would do so in the next on the banks of the Narbada.
Gorakhji accordingly abandoned this life, and was born again in the
house of the Raja of Jesalmir in Marwar in the person of Dnyaniji.
When eleven years old he visited Kabir at the habir vad tree
near Broach. Taught by the sage, Dnyaniji settled in the
village of Saja, and built a temple of Ram and Lakshman. He
died on Posh sud 11th (January), and every year on this day a
fair is held in his honour. The fair lasts for thirteen or fourteen
days, and is attended by 1000 or 1200 pilgrims, mostly religious
beggars from Surat, Broach, Baroda, and the neighbouring districts.
Bohoras, cloth sellers, confectioners, brasiers, and grocers open • a
few shops, and goods worth about £250 (Rs. 2500) are sold. The
pilgrims worship the footprints of Dnyaniji. The expenses of this
temple, amounting yearly to about £70 or £80 (Rs. 700 - 800),
are met partly from land granted by the Rd,jpipla state which
yields about £40 (Rs. 400) a year, and partly from land in Gaikwar
and British territories yielding nearly the same amount.

Na'ndod, north latitude 21° 55', east longitude 73° 43', the chief
town of the Rajpipla state, with, in 1872, a population 9768 souls,
lies about thirty-two miles east by north from Surat, on a rising
ground in a bend of the Karjan river about eight miles from the
Narbada. Flowing almost due north till it reaches the south end of
the town, the Karjan makes a sharp turn for about two miles to
the south-west. It then bends to the north-west for nearly a mile,
and from that suddenly swerves north-east until it reaches the north
end of the town, and then, leaving the town, flows towards the
north. Near the town the river is about 100 yards broad, but, except
during the rains, it is easily fordable save at a few deep pools.
Towards the east or back of the town the ground rises abruptly, and

Chapter XIV,
Places of Interest.
MoKHDi Gha'nta.

Mota Sa'ja.

Na'ndod,

Shul a, thorn or trident, pdni hand, and ishvar, god.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

166

STATES.

Chapter XIV.
Places of Interest.

Na'ndod.

Pbathampur.

Ka'jpipla.

elopes rapidly towards the west or front, where it is bounded by a
hedge beyond which is low swampy groundj in the cold season used
by the cultivators as a threshing floor. The space between the bend
of the river and the town is laid out in gardens and rich fields.

As early as 1304, the Musalmans are said to, have driven
the Nandod, or Nadot, chief from his capital, and made it the
head-quarters of one of their districts, building a mosque and
issuing coin. And from that time until 1830, the chief, though he
had, since the fall of Muhammadan power (1730), recovered most
of the district, never brought back his capital from Rajpipla to
Nandod. Nandod has one main street running from north to south,
with, on both sides, many three-storied brick and cement houses^,
their fronts covered with gaudy paintings and some of them with,
richly carved balconies and overhanging wood work. Formerly very
winding, this street was, in 1868, after a fire, improved and widened
chiefly south towards the palace. On both sides, behind the buildings
of the main street, are wretched Bhil huts. At the south eud of the
town is the palace, a bare quadrangular three-storied building with
four square flanking towers, iu a large untidy enclosure, which is
gradually being surrounded by a wall of cut stone. From the base-
ment, which is given up to store rooms and guardrooms, a dark
flight of narrow steps leads to the first floor, where the Darbar or
reception room, narrow low and lighted from doors leading into a
front verandah, stretches nearly the whole length of the building.
At the back of the reception room is a courtyard with rooms round
it, flanked by suites of women's apartments. The south end of the
palace stands on the steep, eighty feet high, bank of the Karjan river.
Besides with vegetables, the market is well supplied with English
piece goods, embroidered robes, brocades, coarse country cloth,
grocery, spices, tobacco, opium, glass bangles, children's toys,
sweetmeats, and hot pieces of fried meat, habdbs. The trade is
mostly local, imports of hardware, groceries and cloth, and exports
of agricultural produce, honey, wax, wood, and bamboos. Nandod
is mentioned in 1855 as celebrated for its cutlery, sword-belts, and
sdmbar skin pouches. Country, dungri, cloth and tape, pdti, were
woven by the Dheds.^

Prathamptir, about five miles south of Sunth, has a ruined
mosque and minaret, one of the few remains of Musalman supremacy
in this wild part of Gujarat. No writing has been found either on
the mosque or minaret. According to the local story Prathampur
was the head-quarters of a Musalman ruler Pratham Shah, who,
about the middle of the thirteenth century, was beaten and driven
out by a certain Rana Sant.

Ra'jpipla, in the beginning of the present century^ the capital
of the Rajpipla state, is called new Rajpipla to distinguish it

> Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 323.

3 Apparently from 1730 to about 1820.

" Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 318,
See Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 264.

Gnjarit.]

REWA KANTHA.

167

from the village of Pipla also called jitna or old Pipla, the original Chapter XIV.
stronghold of the chiefs, where they lived till 1 730. Places of Interest.

Old Pipla, on a spur of the Devs^tra hill, is almost inaccessible Ra'jpipla,

to any one but a Bhil. No wheeled vehicles can get there, the
road, for about eight miles (5 kos), lying through a narrow
gorge between high overhanging hills. In former times it was
a safe retreat, when, if invaded, the chief blocked the path with
wood and rubbish. There are still traces of the village, now
inhabited only by a few Bhils.^ At Rajpipla there were two forts,
one immediately behind old Rajpipla on the top of the Devsd.tra hiU
about 2000 feet high,^ and the other at new Rajpipla. The old
fort is almost inaccessible being approached by narrow footpaths,
which, with a little trouble, could be made impassable even for infantry.
The new fort, built about 1 730 on the spur of a hill at the meeting
of the Tarai and Karjan, is approached, along the bank of the Karjan,
through two miles of a wild and beautiful mountain gorge. Both
sides of the hills overhanging the stream are crowned by breast-
works, and the road is rugged enough to make access to the fort
very difficult. In front of the fort the Ldl Darvdja, a gateway with
flanking towers, completely bars the road. Even after surmounting
this, an invading force would be nearly a mile from the key
of the position, and would have to fight its way through a rugged
defile between heights and among rocks and bushes alive with
Bhils. The fort, a square court with walls about ten feet high
enclosing an area of eight acres (15 bighds), contains the palace,
a paltry structure with flanking towers armed by a few pieces of
miscellaneous artillery. Old associations endear the fort to the
ruUng family, and every year, as the great Dasera festival comes, the
Raja marches in state from his palace to the fort, and, by the
slaughter of a male buffalo, wins the favour of the guardian of his
house.

Ra'inpur, with, in 1872, a population of 2284 souls, lies about a Ea'mpub.

mile to the east of Sunth at the meeting of the small rivers Ohibota
and Suki. The road between the two towns lies along the bed of
the Chibota through a pass commanded by hills on either side.
The town is modern and laid out with some regularity, with a broad
centre street leading from a ford over the Chibota. On the left,
soon after leaving the river, are the jail and a new market. A
little further, on the right, are new state offices, and, on the crest of
the hill, a new hospital. The trade and population of the place have
of late years rapidly increased, and some of the merchants' houses
are well built and adorned with fretted stone work.

Ratanpur, north latitude 21° 24', east longitude 73° 26', in the Ratanpub.
Rupnagar sub-division of Rajpipla, stands on the top of one of a
series of small rounded hills, about fourteen miles above Broach.
Here, in 1705, the Marathas gained a most complete victory over

>.Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 264.

2 Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 323.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

168

STATES.

Cihapter XIV.
Places of Interest.

Ratanpuk,

Sa^ja'la.

the imperial army under Safdar Khan Babi and Nazar AH Khan.^
At the foot of a liill, in an uncultivated tract, about five miles south-
west of Ratanpur, and three miles east of the village of Limodra,
commonly called Nimodra, are the celebrated carnelian mines.
Formerly all the stones were burnt at Limodra, but, about ] 850, two
other establishments were opened, one at Sultanpur and the other
at Rampura.^ On the top of the hill above the mines is the tomb of
Bawa Ghor. Of the origin of the tomb, the servant, m/ujavar, in
charge gives the following account. A long time ago the goddess
Makhan Devi lived on the hill and near her a lamp, fed by fifty
pounds of butter, continually burned. So strong was the light,
that the prophet Muhammad at Mecca asked Shaikh Ghori Siddi
or Bawa Ghor to see whence the light came. On the coming of
Bawa Ghor, Makhan Devi sank under the ground, and the saint
settling there worked, and still works, miracles. Even a tiger obeys
his orders, and, if his victim only calls on the saint's name, the tiger
stops eating him. A fair is held every year on the 6th of the
Muhammadan month of Rajjah, when, according to the season of
the year, from 100 to 500 Muhammadan worshippers come from all
parts of Gujarat. The Rajpipla chief has granted lands yielding
about £20 15s. 6d. (Rs. 207 as. 12) a year to maintain this tomb. On
the same hUl, at a little distance from Bawa Ghor's tomb, are the
tombs of Bawa Habash and Mai Meshra, the brothers of Bawa Ghor,^
who, when twelve years had passed, came from Mecca to look after
their brother. Near this tomb is a rdyan, Mimusops indica, tree,
commonly resorted to as a tree of ordeal. Its intertwined branches
form a loop, through which suspected persons are made to pass, the
popular belief being that while shrinking and holding fast the guilty,
the loop allows the innocent to pass through unhindered.

Sanja'la, in the Jhagadia sub-division of Rajpipla, has a temple of
Gumandev, or Hanuman, held in high local esteem. The story, as
told by the temple priests, is that many years ago the site was
densely covered with forest. Gulabdas, an ascetic, found an image
hid in a thorn bush and raised a small shed over it and afterwards
a stone and cement temple. In time money flowed in and round
the temple large rest-houses, dharmshdlds, were built. On every
Saturday in Shrdvan (July - August), people from the villages round
come to worship the image pouring over it offerings of oil. The
temple has a small reservoir, where the oil offered to the image
is stored. The expenses of the temple, from £100 to £150
(Rs. 1000- 1500) a year, are met from the rents about £20 (Rs. 200)
a year, of the village of Mdlpur, some service land yielding about
£30 (Rs. 800) granted by the Rajpipla state, and from the sale of the
oil offerings. On A' so vad 14th (October) or Kali Chaudas every year
a fair, attended by from 400 to 500 people, is held in honour of the
image. Sweetmeat makers, grain parchers, and others open a few
stalls where goods worth from £5 to £10 (Rs. 50 - 100) are sold.

• Watson's Gujardt, 87. ^ Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 269.

^ This B&wa Ghor was an Abyssinian carnelian merchant. See above p. 12.

3ujar&t.]

RBWA KANTHA.

169

SUNTH.

Sunth, the head-quarters of the Sunth state, north latitude Chapter_XIV.
23° 13', east longitude 78° 55', lies about eighty miles north-east of pi^ggg of Interest
Ahmedabad, among the ranges of hills which cross the state from
north to south. From the west, the road passes over three hilly
ridges, and through several defiles and rocky valleys, to the narrow
hollow, where, hemmed in by hills, lies the town of Sunth.i ^
little to the left stands the palace, an irregular building partly of
brick and partly of stone, of great length, with one wing four or
five stories high surmounted by stone gables, and another loss lofty
with small domes and minarets. Between the wings is a modern
white stucco building, out of keeping with the rest, which, though
of no great age, looks like the home of a feudal chief. On the south
side'are the ladies' rooms, and, at the opposite end, over the entrance
gateway is the reception room, lately finished with ornamental
windows and slate balconies adorned with much fine tracery.^

Between the palace and the hills which rise very steep, a space,
enclosed by a wall with flanking towers, does duty as a fort,' and
runs along the crest of the hill for about 150 yards. About the
centre of the wall a sallyport opens down a steep footpath to the
other side of the hills. At the foot of the hill cluster a few humble
buildings, the people all dependent on the chief. The approach to
the palace is up a steep causeway, leading to a gateway with two
flanking towers, and thence up a winding road.

Surpa'n, on the Narbada in the extreme north-east of Rajpipla,
is a place of great sanctity.* Details of its temples are given under
' Mokhdi Ghanta ' of which Surpan is another name.

Udepur, north latitude 22° 20', east longitude 74° 1', the
chief town of the Chhota Udepur state, lies in the centre of
a broad waving plain where the Orsang river makes a sharp
turn to the north-west. The southern flank of the town rests
on the river, and its eastern front on a picturesque lake with
well wooded banks. Beyond the lake, between a fine grove of
mango trees and the river, is the plain where Tatia Topi's
army was routed by Brigadier Parke in December 1858. On the
side of the lake, stands a rich Hindu temple, with a fantastically
carved spire. Through the trees that fringe the lake, the town roofs
may be seen, and, above them, the palace, a curious incongruous
mixture of old and new styles. This building is in a large court-

Surpa'n.

Udepob.

' The fort and town of Sunth stands three or four miles from the open country to
the westward, from which it is separated by moderately high hills. The ruling chief
in 1806 objected most strenuously to Sunth becoming a thoroughfare for commerce or
armies, fearing a dissolution of his government. Hamilton's Description of Hindustan,
I. 685.

^ The slate from the river VaUi near Sunth can be quarried in great slabs. It
splits very fine and is worked into tracery like marble. The masons who designed
and carved the traceries came from MeywAr.

' The fort of Sunth crowns the western face of a high rocky hill, the lower walls
commencing near the base. It is well built and contains a curiously constructed
palace, the two together strong enough to resist native armies. Hamilton's Description
of Hindustan, I. 685.

* Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 315. As so many of his names were holy places, it seems
probable that Ptolemy's (150) Sarbana on the Mahi, as it leaves the hills, is Surpin
on the Narbada,

B 561—22

[Bombay Guzetteer,

170

STATES.

Cihapter XIV.
Places of Interest.

Ubbpub,

VlRPUB,

yard, surrounded by half-finislied brick ramparts and parapet
walls. Through an inner court, a gateway leads to the palace
entrance, and from there a narrow dark winding flight of steps rises
to the reception room on the upper story, and a second flight to an
upper terrace. Round the palace are a number of new houses built
by the present chief, one for each of his sons. These houses are in
marked contrast to the poverty-stricken appearance of the rest of
the town, whose one street has, but few good houses, and whose
inhabitants, making little by trade or manufactures, are almost all
dependents on the chief.

Virptir, in the Balasinor state, with, in 1872, a population of
1800 souls, stands on the Bavli river eight or nine miles west of
Lunavada. It boasts a great age. Early in the thirteenth century
(1225), this town was taken from the Bariya chief Viro by Virbhadra,
great grandson of Dhaval, the founder of the Vydghrapalli, or
Vaghela, branch of the Solankis. On the southern face of the town
is a ruined fort. On the Bavli river, close to the town on the north,
is the shrine of a Muhammadan saint called Dariyaisha, which is
visited from afar and is the chief glory of the town. Wonderful
legends are told of this saint, whose real name was Mirza Muham-
mad, and who is said to have been descended in a direct line from
Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet. Muhammad, it is said, foretold
that a descendant of Abbas would work miracles in Gujarat. One
Kutub Muhammad, the third or fourth in descent from Abbas,
living in Shiraz in Persia, was working many miracles. His fame
reached the ears of a Brahman of the then flourishing town of
Karanta in Lunavada who was in sore straits, because his low caste
ruler demanded his daughter in marriage. Seeking help from
Kutub, the saint came to Karanta, killed the chief, and established
himself in his place. He was afterwards attacked by the Bariya
chief of Virpur, but, by the help of some Rajput mercenaries and
some Ahmedabad troops his assailant was utterly defeated. Kutub's
grandson, Mirza Muhammad, also a miracle worker, is said to have
gone with Mahmud Begada against Champaner and by his advice
to have greatly helped the siege. His tomb is a picturesque building
with windows of quaint open tracery, under a huge tamarind tree
on the banks of the Bavli.'^ Round the tomb are many half-ruined
houses of the saint's descendants who live in idleness on the
villagers' charity. A fair is held at the saint's tomb every year on
the night of the twelfth of Rabbi-ul-Akhar. Large numbers of
worshippers come, and, when the proper time comes, see the locked
doors of the tomb burst open, flowers rise from the ground and
strew the saint's grave, and the stream run butter instead of water.

> This Bd,vli or mad stream once followed the saint Mirza and ran with butter
instead of water. Butter still runs on the fair day poured on, it is said, some way
up the stream by the tomb servant.

NARUKOT.

NAEUKOT.

Na'rukot, a petty state administered by the Agent to the Grovernor
in the Panch MahalSj with a total area of about 143 square miles, a
population, in 1872, of 6837 souls or 47"8 to the square mile, and, in
the five years ending 1878, an average yearly revenue of £986
(Rs. 9860), lies in the south-east of the Panch Mahals, surrounded
by the Rewa Kantha state of Chhota Udepur. The country is wild,
covered with low hills aind thick forests. There is a fair supply of
water chiefly from ponds and wells whose number is gradually
being increased.^ The state has a bad name for fever. But at
Jambughoda, where the timber has been cleared, the climate has
much improved. The average yearly rainfall is about thirty-seven
inches.

In 1874 specimens of lead ore were obtained near the village of
Jhaban. But in the opinion of the Superintendent of the G-eological
Survey they were not rich enough to encourage further search.
Except in some villages where are good groves of teak, the Narukot
forests have very few valuable trees. The inferior timber and
firewood are, by the local Kolis and Naikdas, sent to Baroda and
Dabhoi under a permit system, a cart-load of timber paying 3s.
(Re. 1|) and of fuel Qd. (4 annas).

Peopled by Naikdas and Kolis, the state had, in 1872, 6837
inhabitants. Of these 3466 or 50'6 per cent were males and 3371
or 49"4 per cent females.

The soil is capable of yielding a larger outturn and better crops
than it does under the present rude tillage. Of the total area one-
fourth is unarable being mostly hilly ; one-fourth is arable waste ;
and about one-half is cultivated. In 1878, a considerable area of
cultivated land was thrown up owing to the death, desertion, and
insolvency of cultivators, and the loss of their live stock brought
about by two successive bad seasons. With few exceptions the
agricultural products are rain crops, kharif, chiefly rice, ddngar,
Oryza sativa, millet, bdjri, Penieillaria spicata, maize, mahdi, Zea
mays, pulse, tuver, Cajanus indicus, and hanti, Panicum spicatum.
In so isolated and unhealthy a country, outside husbandmen cannot
be tempted to take land. The local cultivators are only Naikdas
and Kolis who formerly lived chiefly by wood-cutting. They are
beginning to settle to more regular tillage and to the use of the

N&rokot.
Bescriptiott.

Products,

Population.

Agricultun.

' In 1878, a well was built in the vjllaee of Kherva at a cost of about £37
(Kb. 370) and two were improved at a cost of about £18 (Rs. 180).

[Bombay (Gazetteer,

174

STATES.

N&rnkot. plough. But the practice of sowing seeds in forest clearings, locally
Agriculture. known as voir a, or of working hill sides with a small pickaxe, is
still general. The state has lately passed through a time of much
scarcity and distress. In 1877, a very scanty rainfall caused a
serious failure of crops and so great a scarcity of fodder that large
numbers of cattle ^ed. The distress was increased in the spring
of 1878 by a poor mahuda, Bassia latifolia, harvest. In July and'
August, on the top of this double failure came excessive rains more
than once washing away much of the grain. With stores almost
exhausted, the people were reduced to great straits, feeding on roota
and forest produce, till, in April 1879, a magnificent mahuda crop
relieved the distress. The fall in the exports of timber from want
of draught cattle, the large area of land thrown out of tillage, the
widespread sickness, and the heavy special mortality show how
severely the district suffered.

Trade. In 1856, at a cost of £300 (Rs. 3000), a rough cross-country road

was cleared from Jambughoda to Baroda. In 1861, two years after
the N^ikda rising, at a cost of £357 {Shidshdhi Rupees 4084), lines
were cleared through the forest. The chief of these was sixty milea
long from Jambughoda to Dohad. In 1872, at a cost of £2446
(Rs. 24,460), of which Government contributed nearly one-half
and the Narukot and Panch Mahals Local Funds the rest, a road
twenty-five miles long was made from Jambughoda through Halol
in the Panch Mahals, joining the main line from Godhra to Baroda
on the south side of the Kard river. In any Naikda outbreak or
other local disturbance, this would prove a very valuable military
line. The chief exports are forest produce, timber, and mahuda, of
which large quantities pass from and through the state to Baroda
and Dabhoi.

HiBtory. Among the Rewa Kantha chiefs, who, before its transfer to British

management were most notorious as robbers and bandits, were the
Naikdas of the country round Champaner. One of their leaders, though
his territory does not appear as a separate state, was the chief of
Tokalpur, the present Narukot, a Baria Koli by caste. In February
1826, when a Political Agent was appointed, under promise of pardon,
these chiefs, 'after considerable hesitation and under the greatest
dread and distrust,' came in and agreed to furnish security for their
future good conduct, promising to cause no disturbance, to behave
as quiet cultivators, to leave to Government the settlements of their
claims on the revenues of neighbouring states, to keep no mercenaries,
to be responsible for crime, to protect merchants, and to be subject
to the authority of the Government posts.^ Soon after (1829) the
oflace of Political Agent in the Rewa Kantha was abolished, and
the Resident at Baroda removed to Ahmedabad. The Gaikwar's
manager, kamdvisddr, of Sankheda was appointed to collect the yearly
tribute of £4 (Rs. 41) from Narukot. This position gave him power
over the chief, and for several years the withdrawal of British
supervision left him free. to use iis power as he chose. Unable to

> Bom, Gov. Sel. XXIII. 824.

Qvijarit.l

NARUKOT. 175

manage his people, and forced by the Sankheda manager, who NArukot.

imprisoned both him and his family, Jagatsing (1833) agreed History.

that, if the Baroda Government kept order and protected him

from Chhota Udepur, he would make over to them one-half of

his revenue. A Gaik^ar post, thdna, was established, and, in

exacting one-half of the revenue, the commandant treated the

people with such harshness, that, in 1837, they broke out in revolt.

The services of a British force had to be engaged, and order

was not restored without great difficulty. At the close of the

operations, nearly the whole district was deserted, and every village

burnt down. So hardly had they been treated, that the people

refused to come back unless they were guaranteed freedom from the

tyranny of the Gaikwar's post. On a promise of safety from

oppression and of good treatment the people began to return, and

thirteen villages were soon settled.^ The chief Jagta Baria was

anxious that he should be taken under the protection of Government,

and offered to pay them half of his revenues.^ The Gaikwar

remonstrated against any interference on the part of Government,

but it was decided ' that as Narukot had come under British control

in 1826, the transfer to the Gaikwar of half of the chief's estate could

not be respected. The chief's offer of one-half of his revenue was at

first refused. But, in 1839,* to provide funds for the management and

recovery of the state, it was accepted, and special control vested in

the Assistant Political Commissioner.^ Since then the management

of the state has remained with the British Government, the British

share of the revenue being spent on the improvement of the state.

On the establishment of order in 1837, the people soon quieted down

and for many years remaiued wonderfully free from crime.^ In

1858, excited hy the movements of rebel troops along the eastern

border, the Naikdas rose, plundered the post, thdna, of Narukot,

and at Jambughoda attacked a detachment under Captain Bates.

Afterwards they were joined by a number of Tatia Topi's men, and,

favoured by the thickness of the forest and underwood, the revolt was

not put down till March 1859. Nine years later, Joria, a Naikda of

Vadek, near Jambughoda began to act as a holy man, bhagat, and

claimed supernatural power. Gaining much influence over the

people, he was joined by Eupsing, also a Naikda, a pardoned

outlaw and rebel. They together planned the establishment of

a Naikda kingdom, and getting together a body of armed

followers, attacked and sacked several Government posts, among

them Jambughoda. Troops were quickly collected, Vadek attacked,

and the bhagat's forces scattered (Peb. 16, 1868). The leaders escaped,

but after a short time were taken, tried, and hanged. The people,

assured that their misconduct would be forgiven, settled in their

villages, and since then, in spite of the recent time of scarcity (1877-

1879), order has remained unbroken and crime continued small.^

' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 199. = Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 199

' Gov. to the Pol. Com. 2096, Slat Oct. 1838. Gov. Sel. XXIII 214
* Gov. to Pol. Com. 10th July 1839. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 223.
' Bom. Gov. Sel. XXIII. 200, 217. « Bom. Quar. Rev. III. 374.

' Details of the NAikda risings are given in the Panoh Mahals Statistical
Account. Bom. Gaz. III. 254-258. -

[Bombay G^etteer,

N&mkot.

History.

Land.

Justice.

Police.

176

STATES.

Dipsingj tlie present chief, thirty-nine years of age, is a Baria Koli
by caste. In 1837 it was stated that, for its own good and for the
peace of the province, the management of the state must for some
time remain under a British officer. Since 1837 the country has
been opened, settled habits introduced among the people, and the
revenue greatly increased. Its extreme backwardness and the
excitable character of its people still make British control necessary.

Except in the case of forest tillage, which is charged a lump sum
on each clearing, the occupant pays on the number of ploughs he
uses, not on the area of land he tills. The rates, at first experimental,
have from time to time been changed with the double object of
bringing the wild population to cultivate fixed fields, and of making
them adopt a better style of tillage. For the Kolis, who are more
inclined than the Naikdas to take . up land, the plough rates of
assessment were in 1872, for the better class of soil 4s. 6d. (Rs. 2^)
for the first year, and 12s. 6d. (Rs. 6 J) for the second and following
years; and for the poorer soils 3s. (Re. 1|) for the first year, and
9s. (Rs. 4^) for the second and following years. In the case of the
Naikdas, the plough rates of assessment were Is. (8 annas) for the
first year, 4s. (Rs. 2) for the second, 5s. (Rs. 2|) for the third, and
6s. (Rs. 3) for the fourth and following years. These rates are
little more than nominal, the chief object being to induce the people
to. gain an honest living and to settle. In 1878 the highest plough
tax was £1 (Rs. 10) for a Koli and 6s. (Rs. 3) for a Naikda. Forest
tillage, vdlra, paid from Is. to 2s. (8 annas -B,e. 1) a clearing. The
villages of Uchat, Bhildungra, Pulpari, Nathpari, Kara, and
Gundiveri are held rent-free; and, of the two villages Rampura
and Bhanpura, half the revenues are, after collection, paid to the
headmen who are relations of the chief. Besides these, some, of the
chiefs kinsmen, bhdydds, have a right to certain number of ploughs
free of charge. Except of its boundaries no survey of the state has
been made.

In so poor and simple a country as Narukot money disputes are rare.
So far there has been no call for civil courts. Such cases as arise-
between the chief and the cadets of his family and the resident Vdnias,
are settled by the Political Agent. From the introduction of British
management up to 1868, under the Political Agent, limited magisterial
powers were vested in an officer styled thdnddr. Since the 1868 rising,
a native officer of better position with the title of Mahalkari has been
appointed. He exercises second class magisterial powers, cases beyond j
his jurisdiction being tried by the Political Agent, who has the
powers of a Judge and Sessions Judge. From the Political Agent's I
decisions appeals and references lie to Grovernment. In the conduct
of the court's business the spirit of the British Acts and Regulations
is followed.

The ratio of crime to population amounted in 1878 to 20-77 per
1000 against U'll in 1877, and 9 in 1876. This increase, entirely
in cases of petty theft, was due to the general scarcity and distress
from failure of crops. Of the 139 cases decided in 1878, 135 were
tried by the Mah&lkari, and four by the Political Agent. None of

Qajar&t.]

NA.RUKOT.

177

the decisions w^ere appealed against. The strength of the detachment
supplied from the Panch Mahals Police, was, in 1878, owing to the
unusual amount of crime, raised from forty-one to fifty-two. Of this
force forty-dne were armed, eigh.t unarmed, and three mounted.
T-hey are distributed over three posts, Jambughoda, Khandivar, and
Vavchalvar.

The following table gives the number of offences reported, of
persons brought to trial, and of persons convicted, during the eight
years ending 1878 :

Ndrukot Crime, 187 X- 1878.

YUB.

Offences
reported.

Persona
brought
to trial.

Persona
convioted.

IKAB.

Offences
reported .

Persona
brought
to trial.

Persons
convicted.

1871

1872 ,

1873

1874

45
26
51
65

48
22
89
90

41
19

54
S3

1875

1876

1877

1878

142

119

274

105

265

A lock-up at Jambughoda, in charge of the Mahalkari, is used
for under-trial prisoners, as well as for convicts sentenced to
imprisonment for fifteen days and under. Cases of more than
fifteen days imprisonment are transferred to the Panch Mahals
subordinate and district jails. The cost of the Jambughoda lock-up
amounted in 1878 to £28 (Rs. 280) against £12 (Rs. 120) in 1877.
In 1878 the number of prisoners was forty- nine, against forty-seven
in 1877 and twenty-three in 1876.

Compared with £350 (Rs. 3500) in 1849, the gross revenue
for 1878-79 was £674 (Rs. 6740), or in thirty years a two-fold
increase.. The land revenue which had steadily risen from £439 in
1871 to £777 (Rs. 7770) in 1876,^ from the failure of crops in 1877
•Jell to £456 (Rs.4560) and again in 1878 rose to £789 (Rs. 7890).
In 1878 the forest revenue amounted to £37 (Rs. 370) against £63
(Rs. 630) in 1877, and £112 (Rs. 1120) in 1876. The decrease was
owing to the scarcity of bullocks. For the same reason there was
a fall in transit duties from £280 (Rs. 2800) to £147 (Rs. 1470),

In 1868 a school was started at Jambughoda with the object of
giving some sort of education to the wild Naikdas and Kolis. It is
maintained out of Local Funds at a yearly cost of about £36 (Rs. 350).
The average daily attendance rose from 13 in 1873 to 33 in 1876 •'
in the year of scarcity it fell to 24 and in 1878 again rose to 30'5.

A dispensary, opened in 1872, is under the charge of a hospital
assistant. Against 230 in 1874 and 693 in 1877, 596 persons were
treated in 1878. Of these, 482 were cured, 47 left, and 67 died.
Vaccination, under the charge of the vaccinator employed in the
neighbouring district of Halol in the Panch Mahals, rose from
233 in 1874 to 498 in 1876, and in 1878 fell to 161. The birth
and death returns are, from the unsettled state of the people and

'The details are: 1871, £439; 1872, £447; 1873. £572- 1874 £R'^l ■ ifi7«
S:1876. £777: 1877. £456: 1878. £789. > " i^ , ^ot% *bs>j , I875,

£706 ; 1876, £777 ; 1877, £456 ; 1878, £789.
B 561—23

Nirukot.
Police.

JaU.

Esvenue,

Instruction.

Health.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
178 STATES.

NArnkot. the inability of their headmen to read and write, untrustworthy.

Places of Interest. From the excess of rain and the failure of cropSj 1878 was a most
unhealthy season.

Ja'inbllghoda, with a population of 491 souls, is the head-quarters
of the state. The chief lives at Jhotvar half a mile to the
north-west. Here in 1858 a detachment of the 8th Eegiment N. I.
under Captain Bates was attacked by the Naikdas under their leaders
Erupa and Keval; and in 1868 the station was taken and sacked by
a band of Joria bhagat's followers. The police station, designed
with a view to defence, has room for the police guard and for the
local revenue and magisterial officers.* A quadrangular enclosure,
it has blocks of solidly built rooms ranged round so as to give a
clear central space of 196 feet by 162. At each of the four comers
is a bastion, with steps leading to a roof, terraced and provided with
parapets loopholed for musketry. The height of the terraces is 14
feet 4 inches, and the parapets are three feet higher. The entrance
gate, ten feet broad, is provided with a wicket and protected by
flanking towers. The walling is of brick and lime masonry j and
the roofing of concrete arches, carried either by cross walls or on
wrought-iron joists. Above the gateway is a room, twenty feet by
ten, and a bath room, twelve feet by seven, suitable for a European
officer. Within the enclosure is a well. The work, begun in 1869
was finished in 1872 at a cost of £4270 (Rs. 42,700). Besides this
police station Jambughoda has a school and dispensary.

' The accommodation is, for foot police 4 rooms each 10X10 feet and 26 rooms each
12 X 10 ; for mounted police 4 rooms and 4 stables each 10 X 10 feet ; for revenue and
magisterial officers there are 2 rooms each 15X13 feet, 3 each 13x13, 2 each 13x10
and one 43x10 feet.

CAMBAY.

(OAMIAY

MFERENCES

lEl TaiJui, 0/Ka and, Mar}(d>

ft CblUdor's Bmt^alinv

fa Trardlers '_ So.

J^ Badway Station

"^-^ Made Roatl

a NtUFort

Sc^e of Mies

Gov'' FlwtemtcoipvphLr, Oflm Foona, 1S7S

1 Population aimr /O.OOO

2 iftaveat 7.S00\

Sc JOMOOS
5 . beltvem 5.000\

& l.SOOS
4 . hetwem- 2..7/70]

& 5.000)

CAMBAY.'

CHAPTER I.

DESCRIPTION, PRODUCTS, AND POPULATION.

Cambay, at the head of the Cambay gulf in the west of Grujarat,
lies between 22° 9' and 22° 41' north latitude, and 72° 20' and 73° 5'
east longitude. With an estimated area of about 350 square miles,
it had, in 1872, a population of about 83,000 souls, and, in 1878, a
revenue of nearly £40,000 (Rb. 4,00,000).

It is bounded on the north by MStar in Kaira, on the east by
Borsad ia Kaira and Petlad in Baroda, on the south by the gulf,
and on the west by the Sabarmati. The political boundaries are
most irregular. In some places Cambay villages are embedded
in Kaira ; in other parts detached fragments of Kaira lie in the
heart of Cambay. Inland, the possessions of the Nawab, stretch
about fifteen miles to the west, eighteen to the north-west, ten to
the north, and twelve to the east.

Except near the Mahi, where the surface is cut by water-courses,
and whefe the river banks rise in cliffs from thirty to eighty feet
high, the country is flat and open. Though in parts, especially
along the Sdbarmati, rather bare of trees, during the rainy and cold
seasons the whole is beautifully rich and green.

Two of the larger Gujarat rivers enter the sea within Cambay
limits. The Sabarmati, after flowing south for about 200 miles,
falls into the gulf twelve miles west of the city j ^ and, a short way
to the east, about 350 miles from its source, a five-mile broad
estuary receives the waters of the Mahi. Though of great volume
in times of flood, these rivers are of no use either for navigation or
irrigation. The mud deposits near their mouths make them
impassable for vessels of any size, and the salt of the tidal
wave and the height of their banks prevent them from being
used for watering the fields. Except the Mahi and Sabarmati none
of the Cambay streams flow throughout the year.

Chapter I.

Description.

Position.

Boundaries.

Aspect.

Kivers.

' The correct form of the name is Khambhdt.
^ Saunders' Mountains and Bivers of India, 31,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

182

STATES.

Chapter I.
Description.

Lakes,

Wells.

Drainage.

Geology.

Climate.

WitMn Cambay limits there is no fresh-water lake of any size.
Still, as in Kaira, almost every village has a pond, or reservoir,
holding water for the greater part of the year. In most years, from
the middle of April till the rains set in, generally late in June, the
pond supplies are exhausted, and cattle have to be watered from
wells.

From its position, between two large tidal rivers, the soil of
Cambay is so soaked with salt that water becomes brackish at a Httle
distance below the surface. In many places new wells have to be sunk
every five years. Besides being brackish, Cambay well water is
unwholesome, often causing pairdEul boils when incautiously used.

During seasons of heavy rain, much of Cambay is liable to be
flooded. Its rulers, in the time of prosperity (1400 - 1700), guarded
against this evil by cutting drainage canals. These drains, works
of great labour and cost, are now much neglected. But the people
complain little, and it would seem, either that the rainfall is lighter
than it was, or that the surplus water is more carefully stored in
village reservoirs.

A gently waving alluvial plain, Cambay has no rocks and but few
pebbles. Nodular limestone, hanhwr, mixed with sand or clay is
found in large quantities from ten to fifteen feet below the surface;
Though not of the best quality, the lime it yields is much used for
house-building and other local purposes.

Compared with the more inland districts the climate is good and
the temperature equal. Thermometer readings, kept during
the three years ending 1847, show a mean minimum of 53° in
January, and a mean maximum of 76° in May. During the same
period, the average yearly rainfall was 29 inches 30 cents.

Before the railway made travelling easy, Cambay was the only

coast station within rea<!h of invalids suffering from the fevers and

heat of inland Gujarat. Such was its value as a sanitarium, that,

in 1837, a hospital was established for the use- of European officers

and troops stationed in Ahmedabad, Kaira, and Baroda. On the

12th March 1837, ninety-eight invalids of the 17th Regiment of

Native Infantry arrived at Cambay from Harsol, about thirty-four

miles from Ahmedabad. Of the whole number, eighty-three were-

suffering from fever and spleen, and the rest from rheumatism and

skin disease. At the end of March, fourteen more cases were

admitted, making a total of 112 patients. One death occurred in

April, of the rest, all except five, were discharged cured by the

end of May. By the close of the rains (October), the remaining

five were able to return iu good health to their regiment. Another

remarkable instance is the case of seventy-seven invalids of the 2nd

Grenadier Regiment of Native Infantry, who were sent to Camba,y

from Baroda in the month of January 1847. Of the whole number,

sixty-eight were suffering from fever, one from consumption, and

eight from Sind ulcers. The case of consumption proved fatal. Of

the rest, thirty-one were discharged cured in February, twenty-five

in March, and twenty in April. About 1863, the Cambay hospital

Gujarat.]

CAMBAY.

183

Trees.

Soil.

was closed, and there is now no medical institution in the town. Chapter I.

Vaccination is said to be much practised, and to meet with little Production.

opposition, but no returns are available. No bad outbreak of

cholera has occurred for many years. The only disease mentioned

as peculiar to Cambay is the troublesome ulcer mentioned above,

called ashraphi by natives, and by Europeans known as the Cambay

or Broach boil.

Within Cambay limits there are no forests, nor, except occasional
orchards, are there any groves or plantations. Still, here and there,
generally near villages, are many well grown fine trees. Among the
largest and most common are the tamarind dmli Tamarindus indica,
nvm or limbdo Melia azadirachta, pipal Picus religiosa, banyan vad
Ficus bengalensis, wood apple kothi Feronia elephantum, and mango
dmho Mangifera indica.

Towards the north and west the soil is generally black, well
suited for wheat and cotton. To the east it is poorer, fit only for
the inferior grains. Near Cambay, skirting the gulf, and along the
banks of the Mahi and Sabarmati, stretch vast tracts of salt marsh
flooded at high spring tides. For tillage purposes the soils are
divided into three classes, garden, rice, and dry-crop.

The crops, the same as those grown in the neighbouring parts of Oops.

Kaira, are the ordinary millets and pulses, rice, wheat, tobacco,^
and a little indigo. The cultivation of indigo has of late greatly
fallen off. Hindu peasants dislike growing it, because in making
the dye much insect life is lost while the Muiammadans, with whom
this objection has less force, do not till land enough to raise any
large quantity. Sown towards the end of the hot season, indigo is
harvested in August before coming to flower. After being cut, the
crop is stowed in large vats, generally set in a corner of the field.
The vats are filled with water, and the plants left to soak for one
night, and, in the morning, to draw out any remaining juice, the
leaves are beaten with wooden clubs. The water is then di-ained
off, the dye remaining at the bottom of the vat. Green-looking at
first, the sediment, on exposure, soon gains the true indigo hue.
Mordants are sometimes used to help to precipitate the dye.

The tillage does not difier from that of neighbouring British Tillage,

districts. After the rains (June -October), crops are grown by
water drawn in leather buckets from reservoirs, water-courses, or
river-bed pools. There is very little hot weather tillage, and, except
from wells, little irrigation.

The domestic animals are the same as in Kaira. In the days of Animala.

the early Hindu settlements near the mouth of the Mahi, wild
animals were so numerous that a city, on or near the site of Cambay,
once bore the title of Baghvati or Tiger town. As late as the
end of the last century tigers and lions were found close to

1 Till 1879, when under agreement with the NawAb it was atopped, opium was
grown in eight villages.

[Bombay Gazetteer.

184

STATES.

Chapter I.
Poptdation.

Census,

Cambay. Sir Charles Malet, when Resident in 1781, killed a lion
near the village of Kura on the banks of the Sabarmati, about twenty
miles north of Cambay. The country people called it the camel
tiger, untia vdgh, and thought it the fiercest and strongest of that
race. Camel-coloured verging to yellow, he was without spots or
stripes, not high but powerfully massive, with a head and fore-
parts of admirable size and strength. About the same time, in the
Sabarmati villages, so great was the dread of beasts of prey that,
at the close of each day, the inhabitants gathered their cattle
within the village walls. ^ Of large beasts of prey no trace
remains. The only game is nilgai, Portax pictus, wild hog, and large
herds of antelope, Antelope bezoartica, that feed on the short
herbage of salt marsh lands. During the cold weather every pond
is alive with duck, teal, and snipe.

The 1872 census gives a total population of 83,494 souls,, or
238 persons to the square mile, a density of population greater
than in any Gujarat state except Baroda. Of the total population,
71,505, or 85'64 per cent, were Hindus; 11,882, or 14"23 per cent,
Musalmans ; and 107 Parsis. There were no Christians. Males
numbered 44,283, or 53 per cent of the population, and females
89,211, or 47 per cent, or an average proportion of 113 to 100.
Insane and infirm persons numbered 112, or 0'13 per cent of the
population.. Of these two were insane, 15 idiots, 26 deaf and dumb,
67 blind, and 3 lepers. There are no details of the strength of the
different Hindu tribes and castes. Compared with other Gujarat
states, the proportion of aboriginal tribes is very small. Arranged
according to religion, of the 71,505 Hindus 32,504 were Vaishnavs,
including 16,457 Ramanujas, 8209 Vallabhacharyas, 1480 Kabir-
panthis, 712 Madhvacharyas, and 5646 Svaminarayans ; 20,147
wereShaivs;^ 3868 Shravaks ; 525 ascetics j and 14,461 belonged
to no special sect. Of the 11,882 Musalmans 10,765 were Sunnis,
and 1117 Shias. Arranged according to occupation, there were,
employed under Government or municipal or other local authorities,
2227 souls, or 2-66 per cent; professional persons, 1274, or 1'52
per cent; in service, 1604, or 1'92 per cent ; in agriculture, 13,670,
or 16"37 per cent; in trade, 1138, or 1"36 per cent; in arts and
crafts, 9855, or 11"80 per cent; beggars and paupers, 547 ; and not
otherwise classed, {a,) wives 26,316 and children 26,687, in all
53,003, or 63'48 per cent, and (b) miscellaneous persons 723 or
0-86 per cent ; total 53,726 or 64-34 per cent.

Besides as husbandmen, Kanbis work as carnelian polishers, a
craft once carried on chiefly by Musalmans. Many Brahmans,
Vanias, and other high class Hindus, have, owing to the decline of

1 Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, III. 90, 94. Nicolo Conti (1420- 1444) says, in Cambay
wild cattle are found in great abundance, with a mane like the mane of a horse,
and horns so long that when the head is turned back, they touch the tail. These
horns, he adds, are used like barrels for carrying water. Major's India in the XVth
Century, II. 20.

2 This is doubtful. The returns shew 16,134 Lingiyats a sect not known in
Gujar&t, They were possibly liTig worshippers.

Gttjar&t.]

CAMBAY.

trade, moved to Bombay, and so small is the local demand for their Chapter I.

labour, that numbers of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, barbers, seamen, Population,

and fishermen seek employment in Surat, Broach, Ahmedabad and

other districts of Gujarat, and in Bombay^ Eemaining away about

seven or eight months in the year, they return with their earnings

during the rains. Very few of the Kharvas are sailors. Besides

manufacturing salt, they have, in many Gujarat towns, and, to some

extent in Bombay, monopolized the work of turning roof-tiles.

Many educated Brahman and Vania youths find work in Gujarat,

Bombay, and other places, as accountants and clerks, seldom visiting'

their native country except for marriages or other great family

events. Among Cambay Musalmans theer is an unusually large

number of Shias (1117). The Nawab, a Persian by descent, is

a Shia, and the Persian and Shia element was, in the eighteenth

century, strengthened by three sets of refugees. Some came in

1723, after (October 1722) Persia was conquered by the Ghiljeis ;

others, in 1739, when Nadir Shah seized the throne and abolished

Shiaism • as the state religion ; ^ and a third section are the

descendants of soldiers who left Nadir's army on his return to Persia

(1739). Mbst of their descendants are either connected with the

court or in the Nawab's service, and foreigners still come as recruits

for the Nawab's Persian regiment. Besides Persians, there is a

body of Shia traders of the -Daudi sect, followers of the Mulla Saheb

of Surat. Of the Sunnis some are cultivators, but most are either

in trade or are carpet-weavers, shoemakers, book -binders, potters,

or private servants. Sadias, Musalman carriers, have carts and

bullocks, which they use in carrying goods from the landing place to

the town. As a body, the Musalmans are badly off, with little energy

and less enterprize. The Bohoras are an exception. Well-to-do and

enterprizing, they trade to China, Japan, and Zanzibar, settling

there for as long as ten years at a time. Parsis, once powerful, now

number only 107 souls. They are traders, distillers, and weavers.

Before the time of the present Nawab (1841), all state offices were
given to Musalnians. This rule has of late been broken, and, except
that a few posts in the army and household are kept for members of
the Nawab's family, Hindus and Parsis are allowed to hold almost
any office. The style of living does not differ from that of the
neighbouring Gujarat districts. Gujarati is the ordinary Hindu
language. Musalmans use Hindustani, and many of them, the
descendants of the eighteenth century refugees, still speak fairly
pure Persian.

_ According to the 1872 census, the eighty-seven Cambay villages Villaees

included 29,505 houses, or an average of 84 houses to the square mile.
Of these 7741, or about 26 per cent, were built of stone or fire-baked
brick ; the rest had walls of mud, or unburnt brick, with roofs of
thatch or palm leaves. Dwellings of the better sort lodged 21 049
persons, or 25 per cent of the whole population, at the rate of 2'72
souls to each house, and houses of the inferior sort lodged 62 445
■ persons, or 75 per cent of the whole, or 2-87 souls to each house

B 561-24

' Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, III. 83.

[Boin1}a,y Gazetteer,

186

STATES.

Chapter I.
Population,

Houses.

Of the 87 villages, 27 have less than 200 souls, 22 from 200 to
500, 25 from 500 to 1000, 9 from 1000 to 2000, 2 from 8000 to
5000, one between 5000 and 10,000, and one above 10,000.
They belong to two main classes, coast and inland villages. The
thirty coast villages include the arable lands along the shore of
the gulf and the banks of the Sabarmati. From their .wheat-growing
soil, these are known as the bdra villages, and yield a yearly
revenue estimated at about £20,000.^ Though the soil of many of
them is poor, some of the fifty-seven inland villages, in the rich tract
of reddi^loam known as the charotar, yield heavy crops of tobacco,
millet, cotton, opium, and indigo.

• Cambay Es. 2,64,949 ; Imperial Rs, 2,11,1
less in value than the Imperial rapee.

The Cambay coin is 15} per cent

Oujar&t.]

CHAPTEE II.

TRADE' AND MANUFACTURES.

Before the time of railways, goods and passengers were carried Chapter II.
by boat to Bombay and other ports. Now the passenger traffic Trade,

is almost entirely by rail through Anand, about thirty miles east of
Cambay. Though Cambay is without made roads, the country is level
enough for carts. The Cambay harbour is ill suited for trade and
yearly becomes more blocked with silt. The silt, brought^ down
by the rivers in the rainy season,, or thrown up by the tide, is
constantly changing the bed of the gul. Passages deep enough
for coasting craft of from twenty-five to thirty tons are sometimes,
in the course of a single rainy season, closed, and fresh channels
cut through high banks of mud. At present (1879) boats moor
a mile from the city gate, and, except during spring tides, have
to be unloaded about half a mile from the landing place. During
the last three years, the largest vessel that visited Cambay was one
of fifty-seven tons from Kalikat..

Across the mouth of the Mahi, from Cambay to Kavi in Broach,
a ferry-boat plies at all seasons. Especially at the springs, when, the
tide rushes with extreme violence, the passage is difficult .*-

Inthe thirteenth, fourteenth, andfifteenth centuries,.one of the chief Tenth Century,
centres of commerce in western India, Cambay has a trade history of
much interest. The first references are early in the tenth century.
It then produced mangoes, cocoanuts, lemons, rice in great abundance,
and great quantities of honey. Leather was largely manufactured.

' The many interesting Portuguese Trade and History references have been
obtained through the kindness of Dr. Geraon da Cunha of Bombay.

2 Of the passage of the mouth of the Mahi, Ogilby (1670, Atlas, V. 215) gives the
following details : About a league southward from Cambay glides the river Mihi,
whose shore must be travelled at the low ebb of the sea, and not without great
danger because the sea rising flows up above five leagues, and at low tide you are
forced to wade through two or three deep places. If any one should venture to wade
through at the coming in of the tide, he would undoubtedly be swallowed by the sea,
for when the water Sows with greater strength and higher than ordinary (for it
observes no rule, but rises or falls more or less according to the course of the moon),
it carries and washes away both horse and man, and oftentimes with such force,
that an elephant cannot withstand the same, nor all his weight prevent him from
being carried away ; therefore all travellers wait for a certain time to wade through
the same, viz., when the sea is low, which is at the new moon, at which time they
may go over it in coaches or horseback without any danger. Coaches are commonly
held fast on both sides that they may not be overturned by the waves. Those that
go on foot strip themselves naked, and, tying up their clothes, carry them on their
shoulders. Many times a whole caravan with abundance of people travel over the
same, some on horseback and others on foot, both men and wumen stark naked
accounting it neither shameful nor immodest. '

[Bombay Gazetteer,

188

STATES.

Chapter IX.
Trade.

Eleventh
Century,

Twelfth
Century.

Thirteenth
Century.

and Cambay was famous for the sandals whicli bore its name.* Many
of its mercbants were Arab and Persian Musalmans who bad mosques
of tbeir own^ and were kindly treated by tbe Hindu governor.^ The
trade was harassed by pirates known as Bawdrij, from their boatSj
haria. Scouring the Arabian Sea as far aa Sokotra, they chased the
Arab ships bound for India and China, ' as the Greek galleys chased
the Musalmans in" the Mediterranean'.'

During the eleventh century, though the Bawarij from Cutch and
Somnath still harassed its ships,*^ Cambay maintained its position as
one of the chief centres of Gujarat trade. Its markets were supplied
with the ginger and cotton of the surrounding country, with the
produce of north India brought overland from Multan either direct
or by the sea-coast, with Cutch balm, and Malwa sugar. By sea
Cambay traded west with Persia, Arabia, and Sofala in Africa, and
east with Malabar, Coromandel, and, in great ships called junks,
with China.

In the twelfth century, wheat, rice, indigo, and Indian cane^ were
the chief exports, though merchandise of every country was to be
found and was sent from Cambay to all parts. Pirates still infested
the Gujarat seas ; but at Cambay itself traders had gained some
security, as a fine fortress had been built by the ' Government of
India'.*

At the close of the thirteenth century Cambay was one of the two
chief ports of India.' Its exports were indigo in great abundance,
cotton exported to many quarters, much fine cotton cloth or buckram,
and a great trade in hides^* The chief imports were gold, silver,
copper, tutia (the inferior oxide of zinc used as an eye-salve),
madder from the Red Sea, and horses from the Persian Gulf.*

> MAsudi (913), Prairies d'Or, I. 253, 254 ; Eeinaud's Memoir Sur. I'lnde, 221 ; and
Ibn Haukal (943) in Elliot, I. 38.

s Ibn Haukal (943) in Elliot, I. 34.

3 Misudi (913) Prairies d'Or, III. 37 ; Yule's Marco Polo, 11. 344. Besides Rajputs
of the Sangdr tribe these pirates included Jdts, Meyds, and Xurks. According to
Wilford (As. Res. IX. 224), under the name Diveni, or men of Diu, their interference
with trade so enraged the Romans, that they were forced to send hostages to
Constantinople. The early Arab writers (800-1000) mention the JiXa (834-885)
making a descent on the Tigris with so powerful a fleet that the whole strength of
the Kaiiphat had to be sent against them ; (Ibn Alatyr, 834, in Reinaud's Fragments
201) ; the Kurks carrying their raids as far as Jadda in the Red Sea (Elliot's History,
I. 509, and II. 246 - 248) ; and the Meyds of Saurdshtra warring with the men of Basra.
(Elliot's History, I. 521).

< Al Biruni (970- 1039) in Elliot's History, I. 67, 69.

' Jaubert's Edrisi (1090-1153), 172. As this Indian cane grew on hills, the reeds,
which so late as the eighteenth century were exported for arrows to Hindustan,
Persia, and other countries, are probably meant. Bird's MirSt-i-Ahmadi (1748-1762),
104.

^ Idrisi in Elliot's History, I. 84, ' 85. The Government were the Anhilvdda
Solankis (946-1240).

' Marino Sanuto (1300-1320) quoted in Yule's Marco Polo, II. 333.

* According to Marco Polo (1290) the curing of hides and the manufacture of leather
were two of the most important of Gujardt industries. Every year a number of
ships went to Arabia laden with the skins of goats, of oxen, of buffaloes, of wild oxen,
of unicorns, and other animals . The leather was used for sandals, and was cleverly
worked into red and blue sleeping mats, exquisitely inlaid with figures of birds and
beasts, and skilfully embroidered with gold and silver wire. Yule's Marco Polo, II.
328-329. » Yule's Marco Polo, II. 333.

Gi\jar&t.]

CAMBAY.

189

Fourteenth
Century.

Fifteenth
Century.

Among its merclxaiits were many foreign Musalm^ns and a large Chapter II.

community of Parsis, whose interests were carefully watched by the Trade.

Solanki kings of Anhilvada.' Many of the seamen were Hindusj

Rajputs and Kolis by caste, to whom an entire quarter of Anhilvdda

was devoted.^ Though Cambay is said to have been free from

pirates, the Arabian Sea was still orerrun by Cutch and Somnath

corsairs ' the most atrocious robbers in existenoe\^

Except Ibn Batuta's (1345) statement that the city was prosperous,
and the knowledge that, at the beginning of this century, the old
trade route between Asia and Europe by way of the Red Sea was
reopened, nothing regarding the trade of Cambay in the fourteenth
century has been traced.

The chief articles of Cambay trade mentioned by travellers of the
fifteenth century are sardonyx, spikenard, lac, indigo, myrobalans,
silks, and , paper.* During this period, the Musalman rulers of
Gujarat paid much attention to naval matters, and on five occasions
Cambay shared in the work of equipping fleets. One of these
, expeditions, in 1430, was political, directed against Ahmad Shah
Bahmani (1422-1435)j the ruler of Thana and the central Konkan.
The object of the remaining four was the suppression of piracy.*

Shortly after the beginning of the sixteenth century, the control Sixteenth

of the sea trade of Cambay passed from the king of Gujarat to the Century.

Portuguese. Perhaps because much more information is available,
the sixteenth century is generally considered the time of Cambay's
chief prosperity. But it seems doubtful if the trade of Cambay was
ever again so great as it was during the reign of Mahmud Begada
(1459-1513).* In spite of the successes of the early years (1526-
1530) of Bahadur's reign, the sixteenth century was, on the
whole, a time of decline in Gujarat ; and though the Portuguese
may have increased the demand for Cambay products, and, to
some extent, have improved navigation, they, for several years
(1529-1534), spared no effort to injure the harbours and shipping
of Gujarat. Even when (1533) they became the acknowledged
rulers of the Cambay seas, it was their interest to reduce

' See the story of Sidhrdj (1094-1143) in Elliot's History, II. 164.

" R&a Mali, I. 318. The Kolis of the north of Gujardt are said to have come from
the lands near the Indus and to have been called Meds. (R6s MaU, I. 103).

3 Yule's Marco Polo, II. 328, 330, 333.

* See Major's India in the XVth Century, II. 6-13 and 20 ; III. 8 and IV. 9. Among
these articles, paper is noticed by NiooloConti (142U-1444) as being used in Cambay
and nowhere else in India. Indigo is mentioned by Nicolo, by Athanasins Nikotin
(1468-1474), and by Hieronimo (1499).

■■ These expeditions against pirates, all of them undertaken by Mahmud Begada
(1459-1513), were, 1475, against the Malabdrs : 1480, against Jigat and Bet ; 1482,
against Balsir ; 1494, against a revolted officer of the Deccan Government who had
captured some 6ujar4t trading ships. Active measures would seem to have been
much required, as, according to Athanasius Nikotin (1468-1474), the sea was infested
with pirates, all of them KAfars (Hindus), neither Christians nor MusalmAns, who
'prayed to stone idols, and knew not Christ.' Major, III. II.

' During Mahmud's reign, according to Varth ma (1508), Cambay and another city
(apparently in Bengal) supplied all Africa, Ara bia, Ethiopia, and India, including
Persia, Tartary, Turkey, and Syria, and a multitude of inhabited islands with silk
and cotton stu£f». Badger's Varthema, 111.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

190

STATES.

Chapter ir.
Trade.

Sixteenth.
Century,

Course of
Trade.

Exports,

Cambay to a local port, and draw the foreign trade to their own
cities Diu, Ohaul, and Goa. With the decline of Portuguese power,
the trade between Cambay and the Red Sea revived, and before
the English (1608) came to Gujarat, it was again of considerable'
consequence.^

Of the marts connected with Cambay at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, there were, of inland towns, in Gujarat,.
Ahmedabad, Patan, and Ghampaner; and in Upper India, Delhi and
Labor. Of sea-ports, there were Gogha and Diu in Gujarat, Diul in-
Sind, and Kalikat and Cochin on the Malabar coast : to the west were,-
Ormuz in the Persian Gulf; Sheher^ Aden, and Jadda on the Arabian
eoast, and Magadoxa, Melinda, and Mombaza in east Africa : ^ and to
the east were Ceylon, Chittagong, Martaban, Tenasserim, and Malacca.
Early in the century, under Portuguese influence Diu, Chaul, and
Goa became the chief Indian places of trade with Cambay; Ormuz
remained the head-quarters of the trade to Persia ; ^ the
traffic with the Red Sea was for a time nearly destroyed ; and,
when it again revived, Mokha not Aden, was the chief station. The-
dealings with east Africa, falling almost entirely into Portuguese
hands, were managed from Chaul in the Konkan. In the east,
Satgong to some extent took the place of Chittagong, but Malacca,
after 1511 in the power of the Portuguese, remained the centre of
that great trade.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Cambay exports were :
Of MiNEKALS, the agates, carnelians, and crystals, known as Cambay
stones ; of vegetable peoducts, rice sent to Sind, the Konkan,
Malabar, Arabia, and Africa; millet to Malabar and Africa; wheat*
to Malabar, Arabia, and Africa; pulse and sesame to Malabar;
cotton to Malabar and Arabia ; ginger and pepper ^ to Persia ; and

' Three Voyages of Vasco de Gama, LVI. ; and Gapt. Saris and Sir H. Middletoa
(1611-1612) in Kerr's Voyages, VIII. 485-493, Finch (1608) speaks of the 'topping
trade of Cambay in alj sorts of cloth and rich drugs.' (Harris, I. 89). The decline of
Portuguese trade dates from 1580, when Portugal was absorbed in the Spanish empire.
Besides the opposing interests of Chaul and Goa, Gujarat at this time had a powerful
rival in Tatta in Sind, from which spices were sent up the Indus and distributed
through LAhor, and by the same route the goods of Tipper India were brought to the
sea. Steel (1614) in Kerr, IX. 209.

^ From Mombaza (S. Lat. 4° 41), south as far as SofAla (S. Lat. 20° 15'), and from.
Sof41a by land 200 miles beyond, towards the Cape of Good Hope, the goods brought
to Mombaza by the Cambay ships were distributed by Arab merchants settled in
Africa. These settlers made large profits, exchanging Cambay coloured stuffs and)
beads with the people from the interior for unweighed gold, so much in quantity that
they gener.illy gained 100 per cent. Here, too, they collected large quantities of ivory.,
Barbosa (1501-1517) i Stanley's Translation, 7.

* The whole revenue of Ormuz depends (1523) on Cambay trade. Mon. Ined. II. 79.

* Wheat. Caesar Frederic (1585) : Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 536. It seems doubtfui
whether this wheat was the produce of Gujardt and not rather Mdlwa and Ajmir
wheat imported by land. See Gladwin's Aiii-i-Akbari (1590), II. 62. The author of
the Mir4t-i-Ahmadi (Bird, 102) says, though in his time (1750) much wheat was
produced in Gujarat, formerly the better kinds had to be imported. The authority
for the production of wheat in GujarAt is Stanley's Barbosa, 57, 59, 60.

' Pepper is said to grow in all parts of India. Caesar Frederic : Hakluyt's Voyages,
II. 372. Barbosa's (1514) pepper, that grows only on and to the south of the Malabir
coast, is the vine pepper (Chavica betel).

ei\iarit.]

CAMBAY.

191

turbith (convol. turbethum) to Malabar ; of prepared vegetable
PEODUOTS, opium, though held inferior to the opiam of Aden, went
west to Persia, south to Malabar, and east to Pegu and Malacca ; *
and indigo,* though of less value than Agra indigo, was one of the
chief exports to the Persian Gulf and the Eed Sea, and afterwards
to the Portuguese ports of the Konkan ; of animals,^ horses were
sent to the Konkan and Malabar ; of MANrFAOTUEED articles, agate
ornaments were sent to Malabar, Arabia, the Eed Sea, and east
Africa ; and to all countries where Cambay merchants traded, were
sent cotton thread, cotton cloth,* coarse camlets,® thick carpets,
inlaid work-boxes and bedsteads,^ lac ' and lacquered ware, silk,*
and articles of ivory, ' well knovni in commerce like inlaid works of
gold'.*

The land imports were diamonds from the Deccan, wheat and
barley from Malwa, spices from Sind,^° indigo and spices from Labor,
and silk, horses, myrobalans, and spices from Cabul. The sea imports
were : Of minerals, copper, lead, quicksilver, vermillion, and alum

Chapter 11.
Trade.

Sixteenth
Century.

£keportt.

Imports.

* Cambay opium is (1554) the best to send to Malacca and the Malabdr coast. Mon,
Ined. V. I. 13.

* Indigo. 'A great quantity of indigo' (Caesar Frederic: Hakluyt's Voyages, II,
343). The best indigo probably came by land from Lihor and Agra. But much ^ras
grown in Gujarat, chiefly at Sarkhej and Nadidd. Gladwin s Ain-i-Akbari, II. 64.

' Animals. ' A wonderful quantity of horses ' (Stanley's Barbosa, 55). Oxen and
camels were famous ; but no mention is made of their being exported. Gladwin's
Ain-i-Akbari, II, 64.

* Cotton cloth was the staple export, Varthema (Badger's Edition, 107) (1508) says

■ every year 40 or 50 vessels are laden with cotton and silk stuffs' ; Barbosa (65) speaks
of ' many cloths of white cotton, fine and coarse' ; and Frederic (1585) of ' an infinite
quantity of cloth made of bombast of all sorts, white, stamped, and painted,' (Hakluyt's
Voyages, II. 343). The Portuguese brought MalabAr pepper and Malacca spices to
exchange for Cambay cloth (Mon. Ined. (1523-1554) V. I. 13, and V. II. 79). They
(1638) called Cambay 'the' garment of the world,' for it yielded cloth enough to coyer
the whole east and a large part of the people of the west. Don Joao de Castro, Prim.
Kot. des. Indies, 113-116.

5 Camlet is a plain stuff of goat's hair, of wool, or half wool half cotton.

* Woodwork. Great artists with the turning lathe, says Barbosa (66). One of their

■ works of art ' was a bedstead, wrought with gold and mother-of-pearl, very beautiful,
given by the king of Melinda in Africa to Vasco de Gama in 1502. Gama's Voyages,
III. 306.

' Lac is doubtful. It was at this time chiefiy grown in Pegu (Barbosa, 184). But
may also, as in the seventeenth century, have come from the hills of castGujarAt.

' Silk is doubtful. It was grown in Bengal (Gladwin's Ain-i-Akbari, II. 9). But
came chiefly from CAbul and China. The trade in silk stuffs was almost as great as in
cotton cloth.

9 Ivory. Barbosa, 65. Compare Frederic (Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 344). ' An infinite
number of artificers that made bracelets of elephant's teeth.' One of the chief changes
in Cambay trade during the sixteenth century was the decay in the leather manufac-
ture. Barbosa, though he notices (52) the embroidered shoes of veryigood leather worn
by the Hindus of Gujarat, the stout leather leggings of the Muhammadan soldiery (56),
and the stamped kid skins with which the Cambay carriages were lined (65), nowhere
speaks of leather as one of the manufactures of GujarAt. In Frederic's list sandals
appear among the imports, while Mandelslo (1638) expressly mentions the shoes as
being of red Spanish leather (Harris, II. 122), and somewhat later (1651) Tavemier
notices shoes made of Maroquin or Turkey leather. (Harris, II. 357). „ , _

■" SiND SPICES. The chief Sind spice was COSTUS, kuth oi piitchock, also called Badix
dulcis or Lignum dulce. This went to China where it was much burned as incense.
The Portuguese ship that goes (1585) every year from Malacca to China, is oaUed
the ship of drugs, because she carries divers drugs of Cambay,' (Frederic m Hakluyt a
Voyages, II. 366). Ougal or Balsamodendron, probably bdeUiwm, was also found id
Sind, KithiAwAr, and Cutch. Yule's Marco Polo, II. 331, 332.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter II.
Trade.

Sixteenth
Century.

Imports.

192

STATES.

from Aden/ Goa, and Ohaul; gold, uncoined from Africa and
Abyssinia, and botli coined and uncoined from Mecca and Ormuz j
silTer from the Eed Sea and Persian Gulf j iron from Malabar ;
tin from Siam ; and salt and sulphur from the Persian Gulf. There
was a large trade in precious stones. Rubies came from Pegu and
Ceylon, topazes and cat's-eyes from Ceylon, and turquoises, emeralds,,
and lapis-lazuli from Persia. Of grains, fruits, and vegetablb
DYES, rice, cardamoms, betel-leaves, areca nuts, and cocoanuts came
from Malabar ; opium, betel-leaf,* madder, ginger, and galls from
Arabia ; ^ and raisins, dates, the root ruinas for dyeing, and musk
and rhubarb * from Persia. Of piefumes and spices ; cloves came
from the Moluccas, nutmeg and mace from Pegu and Banda, white
sandalwood from Timor, camphor from Borneo and Sumatra,
benjamin or benzoin from Siam, Malacca, and Sumatra, cassia from
Malabar, cinnamon from Ceylon and Java, eaglewood or lign-aloes
from Cochin-China, pepper from Malabar, Ceylon, Bengal, Sumatra,
and Jdva, and ginger from Quilon. Of animals, horses were
brought from Persia and Arabia, and elephants from Ceylon and
Malabar. Of animal products, coral came from the Red Sea, pearls
from the Persian Gulf and Ceylon, ivory from Africa, tortoiseshell
and cowries from the. Maldives, pigeon's dung used as a dye from
Africa, lac from Pegu and Martaban, musk from Ava, and ambergris
from Africa, Sokotra, and the Maldive Islands. Of manufactured
articles, velvets, brocades, and woollen cloth came from the Red
Sea, fine muslins from Bengal and the Konkan, and porcelain from
Martaban and China. ^

These details describe Cambay trade in the early part of the
sixteenth century. Of the state of things towards its close (1585),
Caesar Frederic has left the following summary : Barks came in laden
with all sorts of spices, with silk of China, with sandals, with elephant's,
teeth, velvets of Vercini, great quantity of pannina from Mecca,
with gold pieces and money, and divers sorts of other merchandise.
Barks went out laden with an infinite quantity of cloth made of

' Most of these articles reached Aden from Europe by Suez and Jadda. It was this
trade that was most affected by the new Cape of Good Hope route. Throughout the
greater part of the sixteenth century, the chief import of these articles into Cambay
was by Goa and Chaul. But, as noticed above, towards its close, the trade between
Gujarit and the Bed Sea had considerably revived.

' Betel-lbaf is doubtful. Frederic (Hakluyt's Voyages, IT. .S43) says : ' Great
quantity of pannina which cometh from Mecca.' This may be pan which in Ibn
Batuta's time (1342) was reared in Arabia and much esteemed by the people of India,
(Lee's Ibn Batuta, 59). After its cession to the Portuguese (1534) great quantities of
betel-leaf went from Bassein to Cambay. Mon. Ined. II. 158.

' Gaixs were (1514) brought from the Levant through Mecca to Cambay, and
from Cambay distributed to China and Jdva where they were worth a great deal."
Barbosa, 191.

* This musk and rhubarb came by land from Tartary. Other supplies were brought
by sea from China.

' In the sixteenth century European velvet, scarlet cloth, and cloth of gold, chiefly
of Venetian make, would seem to have been more prized than cloths of the same
kind made in the east. Thus the Gujarit weavers are praised (Gladwin's Ain-i-Akbari,
II. 63) for imitating the silk manufactures of Turkey and Europe, and the velvets
imported from the Ked Sea were esteemed over the whole of the east. (Barbosa, 186
and 188). Terry (1616-1618) says expressly, the Indian velvets, satins, and taffetas
are not so rich as those of Italy, Kerr, IX. 392.

Gujar&t]

CAMBAY.

193

bombast of all sorts, white, stamped, and painted, with great quantity
of indigo, with ginger and myrobalans dried and conserved,
with borax in paste, great store of sugar, great quantity of cotton,
abundance of opium, assaf cetida, puchio, and many other drugs, Diu
turbans, and great carnelians, granates, agates, and bloodstones.^

The merchants were of two classes, residents and strangers. Of
the residents some were Musalmans and some were Hindus. Of the
Hindu trading houses some had branches, or correspondents, in
many ports both Indian and foreign. Among Indian ports, mention
is made of colonies of Cambay merchants in Dabhol,^ Cochin, and
still more in Kalikat where they were much honoured, lived in good
houses in separate streets, and followed their own customs.^ At this
time Gujarat Hindus do not seem to have settled east of Cochin.
West they were found at Ormuz, and, in great numbers, at Melinda
and Mombaza in east Africa.* Many resident Musalman traders
were foreigners, descendants of the Arab and Persian merchants
mentioned by the early Arab travellers.^ Of the stranger merchants,
the greater number were, in the early part of the century,
Musalmans from Western Asia,® and later on, Portuguese and other
Europeans.^

Sixteenth

Century.

Trader).

' Cffisar Frederic (1563-1585) : Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 343.

" DAbhol (north latitude 17° 34' east longitude 73° 16') in Ratnagiri was, in the
14th and 15th centuries, a great Musalmdn place of trade.

' Barbosa, 146. Early European travellers differed much intheir estimate of Hindu
merchants. Marco Polo, (1290) and Jordanus, (1323) describe the GnjarAti Hindu
traders of Kalikat as the best merchants in the world, and the most truthful. (Yule's
Marco Polo, II. 299, and Yule's Jordanus, 22). This agrees with Frederic's description
of the perfect trust stranger merchants placed in the Hindu brokers of Cambay
(Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 343), and with Laval (Voyages, II. 214-220) who says, though
fine and subtle, they are (1610) neither cheats nor easily cheated. On the other
hand, Barbosa (1514) found the Hindus of Gujardt, ' great usurers and falsifiers of
weights and measures, and merchandise and coin, and liars and cheats' (52) ; and Peyton
(Kerr, IX. 230) (1615) calls the Surat brokers 'subtle, and, unless well looked after,
ready to deceive both the buyer and the seller' ; and De Coutto (1600, Dec. IV. Lib. I.
Chap. VII. ) thought that, from the religious care they took to cheat Christians, the
Gujardt Vdnids must be descended from the lost tribes of Israel.

* Ormuz. Abd-er-Kazzak (1442) mentions idolaters in great numbers (Major's
XVth Century, I. 7), and Newberry (1583) found Gentiles there. (Hakluyt's Voyages,
II. 379). Vasco de Gama (1498) found many Gentile merchants from Cambay inMelinda
and Mombaza (Kerr's Voyages, II, 337, and Correa's Three Voyages of De Gama, 137,
note 1. Compare Barbosa, 13).

^ See above p. 184.

' Hieronimo (about 1490) found at Cambay some Moorish merchants of Alexandria
and Damascus (Major, IV. 9). So many Turks, says Varthema (1508), resided
constantly at Diu that it was known as Diu-bandar-rumi or the Turk's Diu, as distin-
guished from Diu or Diul Sind, whose westward trade was almost entirely with the
Persian Gulf. Badger's Varthema, 92.

' Frederic (about 1585) gives an account of the relations between the
European merchants and the class of Hindu traders, who, under the name of brokers,
have played so important a part in the establishment of European trade settlements
in India. ' On arriving at Cambay the merchant chooses his agent from among the
brokers. Gentiles and men of authority, every one of them with from fifteen to twenty
servants. Leaving a list of his goods in the broker's hands, and taking on land the
furniture he brought with him in the ship, for household provision all merchants
coming to India must bring with tliem, the merchant drives to an empty
house in the city where bedsteads, tables, chairs, and empty jars of water
have been made ready by the broker against the arrival of some stranger.
While the merchant rests, the broker is clearing the goods and bringing them to the
house, the merchant not knowing anything thereof, neither custom nor charge.
Then the broker tells the merchant the ruling rates both of the goods he has to
■ell and those he may wish to buy, asking whether he will sell at once or wait.

B 561—25

[Bombay Gazetteer,

194

STATES.

Chapter II.

Trade.

Sixteenth
Century.

The Harbour.

Eegarding the land trade that centred in Cambay, Httle haa
been traced. The chief routes were through Ahmedabad^ north
to Agraj Delhij and Lahor, and west, through Radhanpur, to Tatta
in Sind.i Within Gujarat limits almost all merchandise was carried
in bullock carts,^ and west from Gujarat on camels. The country
was unsettled, and the merchants were liable to be robbed
by bands of Rajputs and KoHs. Generally the traders went in
caravans, trusting for safety to the escort of a Bhat.^

During the whole of this period Oambay harbour was unservice-
able for large trading vessels. At the beginning of the century,
Barbosa notices the difi&culty and danger of the navigation at the
head of the gulf, and advises no one, without the help of a native
pilot, to venture as far as Gandhar, between Cambay and Broach.
At that time (1514), though the larger vessels occasionally passed
to the head of the gulf,4 as a rule, ships trading to distant ports
loaded and unloaded in Din, Gogha, and Gandhar, the goods
finding their way to and from Cambay in small boats." Later on,
the harbour was even more unserviceable. No craft but small
vessels or barks went to Cambay, and these only twice in the month
at the time of new and of full moon.® Early in the century_(1507),
a fleet, equipped from Cambay, acted with Egyptian vessels against
the Portuguese. Though many ships were lost at Diu in 1509, a
Gujarat fleet was kept up, till, in 1529, it was destroyed by the
Portuguese in Bombay harbour. A few years later (1534) the
Gujarat king agreed, in acknowledgment of the Portuguese
supremacy at sea, that no Gujarat ships should trade without a
Portuguese pass.' In return for this concession, the Portuguese
occasionally sent their fleets to act against pirates in Cambay
waters.® These expeditions had no lasting effect. Towards the close
of the century (1585) so many pirates went robbing and spoiling
along the coast, that, except with very well appointed and well
armed ships, or 'with the fleet of the Portugals', there was no safe
sailing.^

The merchant makes his choice. After he has chosen, the whole work of bartering,
or of selling and buying, rests with the broker, for ' tarry as long as he will the
merchant's goods cannot be sold by any man but by the broker that had taken
them on land and paid the custom.' Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 343, 344.

1 Sidhi AliKapodhan (1554), Trans. Bom. Lit. Soo. II. 9, 10.

2 Gladwin's Ain-i-Akbari, II. 63.

^ If the Rajputs meet the caravan with the intention of robbing them, the Bhdts
draw their daggers, and threaten to kill themselves if|the least harm should happen
to the caravan. If their charge is molested, the Bh^ts kill themselves, and the
Rajputs are judged guilty of death by their RAjds. When camels were hired at
Ridhanpur the Bh^ts were dismissed (Sidhi Ali in Trans. Bom. Lit. Soo. II. 9, 10).
Barbosa seems to refer to the Bhits (translated pateb p. 54) calling them BrAhmans
of a lower rank, who, even if there should be war or thieves, always pass safely.

* Compare Varthema (1508), who says you cannot go to Cambay either with large
or middle sized ships except at high water, 105.

' These boats were of a peculiar build, and were called tahveri, Ain-i-Akbari, II. 64.

* Frederic in Hakluyt's Voyages, n. 343.

7 Faria Suza in Kerr, VI. 114, 117, 209, 227.

^ Attacks are mentioned on Seal Bet in 1530, and in 1568 against pirates who
were infesting the Portuguese trade. Kerr, VI. 222, 422.

9 Frederic (1563-1685) : Hakluyt's Voyages, IL 344. Not many years after (1596),
on the fall of Portuguese power, so greatly did their ships suffer from sea robbers that
the King advised the Viceroy to trade in V4uia not in Portuguese boats, Arohivo
Portuguez Oriental, II, 588.

Oujarit.]

CAMBAY.

195

Towards the close of the sixteenth century Surat rose to be a
dangerous rivals and, in the early part of the seventeenth century, the
establishment of the Dutch and English head-quarters at Surat gave
a severe blow to Oambay trade.^ The Dutch and English opened
factories in Cambay. But, though during the greater part of the
seventeenth century its cotton and silk manufactures maintained
their position among the most valued exports of "Western India,
the general trade became more and more limited.^ The- more
important articles were, of exports, silk and cotton stuffs of all
kinds, and of imports, money, dates, and other merchandise.' Besides
the home trade to Diu and Goa, Cambay goods went west to the
Persian Gulf and to Mocha, and east to Achin in Sumatra.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Cambay, though
subordinate to Surat, was in products and manufactures inferior to
few Indian towns. The staples of its trade were carnelians and
agates, grain, cotton, silk, and embroidery, the best in India,
perhaps in the world.* Half a century later, among the Cambay
exports, were, salt like coarse sand with a special virtue for the weak,
carnelian, and ivory articles, and cloths like those of Persia, Arabia,
Abyssinia, Constantinople, and Europe.^ Towards the close of the
century, great quantities of coarse coloured cotton cloth were still
manufactured in the city and exported for the African markets.
But the weavers were few and poor, and, except the English broker,
there was no merchant of eminence.® In ] 787 the only exports were
carnelians, salt, and tobacco. Indigo was grown but none was
exported as the makers mixed it so that no one would buy it/

Chapter II.

Trade.

Seventeenth
Century.

Eighteenth
Century.

' Of Cambay (1601 - 1611), before the bulk of the trade passed to Surat, Pyrard de
Laval writes : Next to Goa no Indian city has so rich a trade as Cambay. Three or four
times a year great fleets, from 200 to 300 sail, called the kafila of Cambay, come to Goa.
Its arrival causes great rejoicing like the arrival of the Indian fleet in Portugal. The
chief articles that came from Cambay were, indigo, beautifully worked precious straiea,
crop crystal, iron, copper, alum, wheat 'the best in the world', rice, many drugs,
butter, oil for eating, perfuming and anointing the body, black and white soap, sugar,
pepper, wax, honey, much opium, cloth covering men and women from head to feet
from the Cape of Good Hope to China, worked cloth, painted cloth, silk, beautifully
worked coverlets and canopies, painted and lacquered bedsteads and other household
goods, bed tapes, cotton hunting hammocks, carpets like Persian but not so fine or
dear, inlaid work of mother-of-pearl, ivory, gold, silver, and precious stones all of
great skill, tortoiaeshell boxes, and no end of gold, silver, iron and wood work.
Voyages (Goa, 1862), II. 214 - 220.

' The chief local cause of the transfer of trade from Cambay to Surat was the
silting of the head of the guK. In the beginning of the sixteenth century (1508) large
ships would seem to have been able to pass to Cambay. (Varthema, 105). Later on
this became possible only to small vessels, and towards the close of the century (1585)
to small vessels only at spring tides. (Frederic in Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 344). In
the beginning of the seventeenth century (1608) there was a topping trade for all sorts
of cloth and rich drugs. (Finch in Harris, I. 89). Fifty years later ships of burden had
to lie a good distance from the shore. Small vessels might, at high water, anchor close
by the city, but at low water they lay dry. (Ogilby's Atlas, V. 212). About the
same time, Tavemjer (1642 - 1666) says the trade is almost lost because the sea, that
ance came so close to the town that fittle vessels could anchor by it, is now half a,
league distant from it, and near the coast is so shallow that great ships can come^ Ofi,
Bearer than three or four leagues. Harris, II. 353.

3 Mandelslo (1638), 101-108 ; Baldeus (1660) in Churchill, III. 506.

* Hamilton's New Account, I. 145.

■> Bird's MirAt-i-Ahmadi, 104, 105. Tieffenthaler (1750) mentions only salt aad
cotton cloth,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

196

STATES.

Chapter II.

Trade.

Nineteenth

Century,

1839 -1878.

Jmporla.

Of Cambay trade in the present century the earliest available
figures are for 1840. The following statement shows the exports
and imports for 1840, 1875, and 1878 :

Carribay Trade, 1840,

1875,

and 1378.

1839-40.

1874-75.

1877-78.

Articled.

IMPOETB.

Eipoata.

Imports.

Exports.

lupoRis. Exports.

Quan-
tity.

Value.

Quan-
tity.

Value.

Quan-
tity.

Value.

Quan-
tity.

Value.

Quan-
tity.

Value.

Quan
tity.

Valne.

Owt.

£.

Ont.

£.

Owt.

£.

Owt.

£.

Cwt.

£.

Owt.

£.

Olarifledbutter

129

863

2020

11,882

130

670

Cocoanuts

.•■

3106

• ••

...

8808

...

8087

...

Carnelians

1785

.••

"369

...

818

..«

8437' 2382

1440

619

Cotton

3:1

• ••

...

629

2310

Cotton seed

• •.

t<. -

'367

124

.it

...

'468

152

" 1

Cotton tape, twist,

thread, and yarn...

181

8397

• ••

236

1293

,,,

...

Dried fruits

1183

1670

• »■

3837

1895

■ .<

833

307

...

Dyea, m o r 1 n d a,

toranffi ; safflower,

kunmbo ; and indigo

195

443

J199

601

479

495

237

400

...

Grain

3277

448

...

1360

92,997

46,968

"is

Grocery

"876

422

"312

617

693

608

1682

643

703

761

,,,

Ivory and tortoUo-

ehell, kaehakda ...

403

■ ••

■ ■B

.(t

871

Mahuda flower

• •>

1743

"488

(It

...

1721

610

IS.

...

Matcbee

...

350

• *■

,,,

1019

• ft

Metal

1733

i960

...

1269

1130

• tl

2391

2803

"' 1

Uolasaes

fi331

6221

•••

...

31,621

14,021

• •S

• >«

17,705

11,459

••i

147

212

...

150

286

124

607

«.>

■ t.

Oil-seeds

UB2

1143

•••

..■

...

1224

"246

1379

1276

• a.

Fiece goods

1565

16,827

...

712

13,227

18,123

191

Salt

"172

122

"237

865

230

...

• ••

• *i

...

Bilk

284

...

•••

4886

<■■

...

Eoap

<*•

2835

...

• •(

.•(

Btone

• *•

"io4

"«2

168

, ,

"196

...

.it

244

• •■

■ •.

Sugar

1C81

2070

2874

3542

...

2063

3957

*■•

Stindriea

4669

i.t

"913

■1*

2297

...

"733

...

16,005

,,,

10,061

Timber

...

3223

..*

4564

...

• .(

4440

■ ••

Tobacco

...

43,196

11,105

••t

64,663

64,085

1..

880

76,287

Wooden bracelets ...

...

287

84,903

33,713

37,832

...

77,816

...

131729

...

90,017

The figures show an increase in the imports from £34,903 in
1839-40 to £37,832 in 1874-75 or 8-39 per cent, and to £131,729 in
1877-78 or 277*41 per cent. Most of the great increase in 1878 is
special, due to the large quantity of grain imported to meet the failure
of crops in north Gujarat and Kathiawar. The exports increased
from £33,713 in 1839-40 to £77,816 in 1874-75 or 130-81 percent,
and to £90,017 in 1877-78 or 167-01 per cent. The increase in
1877-78 is owing to large tobacco exports amounting to about
six- sevenths of the whole export trade. Compared with the 1875
figures there is in 1878 a fall in many leading exports mainly due to
the failure of local crops.

The chief imports are : unhusked rice ddngar from the Konkan,
cleaned rice chokha and wheat from Bombay, peas vatdna from
Bilimora in Surat, and hdvto Panicum frumentaceum from Balsar,
piece goods, clarified butter, molasses chiefly from Balsar and
Bilimora, silk, timber chiefly from Balsar, Bilimora, and Daman,
sugar chiefly from Bombay, cocoanuts chiefly from Bombay and
the Konkan, dried fruit from Bombay and Veraval in Kathidwdr,
metal from Bombay, and carnelians from Broach. During the
thirty-eight years ending 1878, the import of grain fell from

shijarit.]

CAMBAY.

197

£3277 to £1360 in 1875^ and, from special circumstances, rose
to £46,968 in 1878 ; molasses rose from £5221 to £14,021 in 1875,
and to £11,459 in 1878 j piece goods fell from £1565 to £712 in
1875, and again rose to £18,123 ; silk fell from £284 to £5 in 1875,
and again rose to £4886 ; sugar rose from £2070 to £3542 in
1875 and £3957 in 1878 ; and metal fell from £1960 to £1130 in
1875, but has again risen to £2802. On the other hand there is
a fall in the import of cotton yam from £3897 to £1293 in 1875 and
£77 in 1878 ; of dried fruit from £1570 to £307; of cocoanuts from
£3106 to £3087; and of carnelians from £1785 to £1440. In
1840 salt valued at £122 was imported. This import has ceased.
Of fresh imports are, clarified butter worth £11,882 ; maAwcia flower,
£510 ; tobacco, £880 ; soap, £47 ; cotton seed, £124 in 1875 and
£152 in 1878 ; and matches, £350 in 1875 and £1019 in 1878.

The chief exports are : tobacco, sent south as far as Kolaba and
chiefly to Daman and Bombay, west to Kathiawar, and north to
Cutch; clarified butter, carnelians, and wooden bracelets to Bombay ;
grain, pulse, and Indian millet to Bilimora and Bombay; and
piece goods, especially black cloth. During the last thirty-eight
years, the figures show a rise in the export of tobacco from £11,105
to £76,287 ; of clarified butter from £353 to £570 ; of carnelians
from £369 to £519 ; and of wooden bracelets from £24 to £46. On
the other hand there is a fall in the exports of piece goods from
£15,827 to £191 in 1878; and of grain from £448 to £13. In 1840
soap worth £2835, mahuda flower worth £488, stone worth £168,
and salt worth £75 were exported ; of these there has been no
export either in 1875 or in 1878. The export of grocery, valued at
£517 in 1840 and at £543 in 1878 ; of dyes, valued at £501 in 1840
and at £74 in 1878 ; and of cotton-yarn, valued at £90 in 1840
and at £6 in 1875, had ceased in 1878. Of fresh exports are cotton
worth £11 in 1875 and £2310 in 1878, timber worth £12, and metal
worth £7.

In 1878 the shipping of the Cambay port amounted in all to 566
vessels of a total burden of about 10,000 tons. The details are :

Canibay Shipping, 1877-78.

Caue.

Left.

Poet.

Vessels.

Tonnage.

Vessels.

Tonnage.

Total.

Average.

Total.

Average.

Outoh

Portuguese

Gnjarat

Bombay

Eoukaa

61
68
2S
248
134
40

1364
510
342
3854
3319
710

22
8
13
16
24
17

16
58
17
312
133
24

893
6S4
352
6487
3667
380

24
11
20
17
19
16

Total ...

5«S

10,099

633

9933

These vessels are all coasting craft, chiefly batelds. Boats of six
tons and under can make the port of Cambay at all ordinary high
bides, and vessels- of from seven to fifty tons at springs. Ships of
nore than fifty tons never visit Cambay.

Chapter II.
Trade.

Nineteenth
Century,
1839-1878.
Import!.

Xhyports,

198

STATES.

[Bombay Gazetteer)

Chapter II.
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.

Edjpipla
Camelians.

The trade with Gujarat and Central India that formerly passed
through Cambay has, since the opening of the Bombay and
Ahmedabad railway (1863), almost entirely left its former route:
For several years Cambay trade was entirely local, gathering exports
and spreading imports within a radius of about forty miles. The
special grain demand, caused in 1878 by the north Gujarat scarcity,
showed how readily a great sea trade might again spring up. Over
4600 tons of grain were imported, and, chiefly because on the return
voyage they were able to offer specially low rates, the boats gained
an unusual share of the tobacco and cotton exports,

MANUFACTUEES.

The fame of Cambay manufactures has long passed away. There
remain only agate ornaments and cotton cloth.

The^ working in precious stones is the most interesting of Cambay
industries. The term ' Cambay Stones ' includes two classes of
gems J agates^ found in different parts of Gujarat within a radius of
about 120 miles of Cambay ; miscellaneous foreign stones brought to
Cambay to be worked by its lapidaries. Of the first class the most
important is the agate, known from its fleshy colour, as carnelian.
In its natural state, of a dull cloudy brown or yellow, the carnelian is
in Gujarati called ghdr and when worked up aMk. Oarnelians are
found within Rajpipla limits, on the left bank of the Narbada, about
fourteen miles above Broach. The mines are on the sloping side
of a small sandstone hill known as the Bawa Ghori or Bawa Abas
hill, perhaps Ptolemy's (150) Agate Mountain.^ The borings show
a surface bed of gravel with red and yellow ochre below ; under
these fuller's earth and red ochre ; then a thin seam of iron-bearing
rock ; and last the carnelian clay.* The mine shafts are about four
feet in diameter, and on an average about thirty feet deep. At the
foot of each shaft, galleries five feet high and four feet wide,
branch off on all sides. These passages, seldom more than a hundred

> This account is compiled from Hov^'s Tours (1787), Bom. Gov'. Sel. XVI. 49-51 ;
Milbum's Or. Com. (1813), I. 278 ; Captain Fulljames (1832), Trans. Bom, Geog. Soo;
II. 76, 77 ; and Mr. Summers (1848), Bom. Gov. Sel. IV. 15.

2 The agate is a quartz atone usually containing from seventy to ninety-six
per cent of silica, with various proportions of alumina coloured by oxide of iron or
manganese. It is generally found in round nodules or in veins in trap rocks. The
number of agate balls it contains often gives a rook the character of amygdaloid, and
■when such a rock is decomposed, the agates drop out and are found in the beds of
streams. The chief varieties of agates are ; (1) calcedony with the colours in parallel
bars ; (2) carnelian or red calcedony ; (3) Mokha stones ; (4) moss agates ; (5) blood-
stone ; (6) plasma, a grass-green stone probably a calcedony coloured by chlorite ; and
(7) chrysoprase, an apple-green stone coloured by oxide of nickel. The English word
agate is generally derived from the Greek dxamis, said to be the name of a stream in
Sicily once famous for agates. A more probable origin is the Arabic aJcih a river bed.
In very early times (180 A.D.) agates were brought from Arabia to Eome (Vincent, II.
751).

3 From the details of the Broach, Barugam, agate trade given in the Periplus (247)
(McCrindle, 126), it seems probable that Ptolemy's Agate Hill was further inland in
the Deccan or Central Provinces whence the best agates still come. (See below, p. 205).

* The formation containing carnelian, stretching over about four miles, is a deep bed
of red gravel, very like London gravel. In it calcedony pebbles of various form
and size are irregularly imbedded. (Dr. Lush, 1836. Jour. As. Soc. Beng. V. 2, 766),
In 1842 Mr. Orlebar found that, from the decay of the trade, the mines had been,
given up, and the holes filled in, so that he could not examine the strata. Jour.
Bom. As. Soc. I. 195,

Gujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

199

yards long, in many cases join the galleries of other mines. Every
mine has a band of thirteen men, each with a small iron pickaxe, a
few bamboo baskets, and a rope. They work in turns, and, before
he is relieved, each man must fill a certain number of baskets.
The basket is drawn up by a rude roller or pulley supported by four
uprights. At the mine mouth the stones are chipped, and the likely
ones carried to Eatanpur, the village of gems, and there made over to
the contractor or his agent. The average outturn of two men working
from eight to ten hours, is from ten to forty pounds weight of stones.

The contractor divides the stones into two classes, those which
should and those which should not be baked. Three stones are
left unbaked : an onyx called mora or bdwa ghori, the cat's-eye called
chesJiamddr or dola, and a yellow half-clear pebble called rori or
lasania. Of these the mora or bdwa ghori onyx^ is of two kinds,
one dark with white veins, the other greyish white with dark veins.
These stones are found in different shapes, and seldom more than
one pound in weight. Except these three varieties, all Eatanpur
pebbles are baked to bring out their colour. During the hot
season, generally in March and April, the stones are spread in the
sun in an open field. Then in May, a trench, two feet deep by
three wide, is dug round the field. The pebbles are gathered into
earthen pots, which, with their mouths down and a hole broken
in their bottoms, are set in a row in the trench. Round the pots
goat and cowdung cakes are piled, and the whole is kept burning
from sunset to sunrise. Then the pots are taken out, the stones
examined, and the good ones stowed in bags. About the end of
May the bags are carted to the Narbada, and floated to Broach.
Here they are shipped in large vessels for Cambay, and are offered
for sale to the carnelian dealers. The right of working the Rajpipla
mines is every year put up to auction. It would of late seem to
have become more valuable as the average for the last four years
(1873-1876) has been £323 (Rs. 3230) compared with £189 (Rs. 1890)
in the twenty previous years. The contractors are generally Baroda
and Cambay merchants, Vanias and Bohoras by caste.

By exposure to sun and fire, among browns the light shades
brighten into white, and the darker deepen into chestnut. Of
yellows, maize gains a rosy tint, orange is intensified into red, and
an intermediate shade of yellow becomes pinkish purple. Pebbles
in which cloudy browns and yellows were at first mixed are now
marked by clear bands of white and red. The hue of the red
carnelian varies from the palest flesh to the deepest blood red.
The best are a deep clear and even red, free from cracks, flaws, or
veins. The larger and thicker the stone, the more it is esteemed.
White carnelians are scarce. When large, thick, even coloured,
and free from flaws, they are valuable. Yellow and variegated
stones are worth little.

Four agates, the common, the moss, the Kapadvanj, and the
veined, rank next to the Rajpipla carnelians. The Common Agate
is of two kinds, a white half-clear stone called dola or cheshamddr.

Chapter II.
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.

Carne&mis.

1 The true or Sulimini onyx comes to Cambay from Jabalpur.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

200

STATES.

Chapter II.
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.

Common
Agates.

Mou Agates.

Kapadvanj
Agates.

Veined Agates.

Miscellaneous.

Jasper.

Chocolate Stonea,

and a cloudy or streaked stone called jdmo. The colour varies, but
is generally a greyish white. Both kinds come from north-east
Kathiawar, near Mahedpur in Morvi, three miles from Tankara.
Of the stones, which lie in massive blocks near the surface, the
most perfect do not exceed five pounds in weight, while those of
inferior quality, in many cases cracked, weigh as much as sixty
pounds. These stones are brought to the Oambay dealers by
merchants, who, paying a royalty to the Morvi chief, hire labourers,
generally Kolis, to gather them. When worked up, the common
agate is a greyish white, and being hard, brittle, and massive, it
takes a high polish.

Like the common agate, the Moss Agate, sua bhdji, comes from
Bud Kotra, three miles from Tankdra in Morvi. Found in the
plain about two feet under the surface in massive layers often
cracked and from half a pound to forty pounds in weight, they are
gathered in the same way as the common agate. When worked up
they take a fine polish, showing, on a base of crystal sometimes clear,
sometimes clouded, tracings as of dark-green or red-brown moss.

Besides from the town of Kapadvanj in Kaira, where, as its name
shows, the Kapadvanj agate is chiefly found, this stone is brought
from the bed of the river Majam, between the villages of Amliyara
and Man dva, about fifteen miles from Kapadvanj. It is found on
the banks and in the beds of rivers, in round, kidney, and almond
shaped balls from half a pound to ten pounds in weight. Picked up
by Bhils, they are sold to a Mandva Bohora who disposes of them to
the Cambay stone merchants at from 6s. to 24s. for forty pounds
(Es. 3-12 a man). When worked up the Kapadvanj agate takes a
high polish. It varies much in colour and pattern. In some cases
they are variegated, in others they have forms of finely marked
plants grouped into landscape and other views. The trade names
of the chief varieties are kha/riyu, dgiyu, and rdtadiu.

The most valued Cambay agate, the Veined Agate, dordddr, comes
from Eanpur in Ahmedabad. Found near the surface, in pebbles of
various shapes not more than half a pound in weight, they are
gathered in the same way as moss agates, and when worked up,
take a high polish, showing either a dark ground with white streaks,
or dark veins on a light back ground.

Of other Cambay stones the chief are : the jasper or bloodstone,
the chocolate stone, a variegated pebble known as mdimariam, '.
crystal, the lapis-lazuli or azure stone, the obsidian or jet, and the '
blue stone, piroja. Of these the first four are found in Gujarat.
The rest are foreign stones brought from Bombay. The Jasper,
Heliotrope, or Bloodstone comes from the village of Tankara in
Morvi, about twenty miles north of Rajkot. Found on and near
the foot of Bhag hill, in massive layers of from half a pound to
forty pounds, it is gathered in the same way as the agate. When
worked up it takes a high polish, varying in colour from Kla
chhdntddr a green variety with red streaks or spots, to the finer
patolia whose green base is more equally mixed with red and
yellow. The Chocolate Stone, rdthia, comes from Tankara in Morvi.

ftujarit.]

CAMBAY.

201

Found on the surface, or a few feet underground, in masses of from Chapter II.

one to eight pounds, it is too soft and earthy to take a high polish. Mantifectures.

Mdimariam is a liver brown, marbled with yellowish marks of shells p r, q

and animalculse. Dug in blocks of considerable size at Dhokovada """ ^^ °''*'*'

on the Ean of Cutch about sixty miles north of Deesa, it is too

soft to take a high polish. Cambay Crystal, phatak, comes from Cryttal.

Tankara in Morvi, where it is found in masses of from one to twenty

pounds. As clear as glass it takes a high polish. The best

Cambay crystal comes from Madras, Ceylon, and China. Lapis-lazuli, LapU-latuH.

or Azure Stone, rdjdoarat, is deep blue with a sprinkling of silvery

or golden spots. A foreign stone coming to Cambay through

Bombay, it is found in rounded balls in Persian and Bukharan river

beds. It is too soft and earthy to take a high polish. Jet, or Jet.

Black Stone, kdla phatar, is also foreign coming through Bombay

from the hills of Bassora and Aden, where it is found in large

blocks. Like glass in fracture, it is not very heavy, and takes a

high polish. The Cambay jet trade has almost entirely ceased.

The Cambay Blue Stone is not the true piroj a, hnt a composition Blue^ Stone.

imported from China in flat pieces of not more than half a pound in

weight. Like blue glass in appearance, though soft it takes a

good polish.

The rough stone generally passes through three processes :
sawing, chiselling, and polishing. When a stone is to be sawn it is Sawing.

brought to a strong frame of two wooden uprights, joined at the
foot by a cross board, and, at the top, by a strong rope doubled and
tightened by a stick. The stone is then laid on the cross board,
and fixed firmly to it by a cement of coarse bees' wax and cloth
fibres. The saw, a slight toothless iron plate in a light wooden
frame, is then brought up, and, according to the size of the stone,
is worked by one or two men. To smooth its freshly-cut faces, a
mixture of ground emery, fine sand, and water, is kept dropping
into the cleft in which the saw works. To chisel it into shape the Chiselling.

stone is taken to a slanting iron spike, khondia, driven into the ground
till only the head is left above the surface. Laying against the edge
of this spike the part of the stone to be broken off, the workman
strikes with a horn-headed hammer till all roughness has been
removed. The article is now handed over to the polisher. He Polishing.

takes it to a platform sixteen inches long by six broad and three
thick. In this platform are two strong wooden uprights, and
between the uprights a wooden roller, eight inches long and three in
diameter, fastened into a head at one end. This roller works on an iron"
spindle or axle. On the one end, the axle is screwed and fitted with a
nut to which certain plates or discs can be made fast. These grinding
or polishing plates are made of emery mixed with seed lac. The
emery, karanj, of greyish black, is carefully powdered and
glistening. The preparation of emery varies in fineness according
;o the nature of the work. For rough work the proportion is
;hree parts of ground emery to one of lac ; for medium work the
3roportion is two and a half pounds of finely powdered emery to
3ne of lac ; and, for the finest work, lac and carnelian dust, vari,
bre used in equal quantities. Besides the composition plates, a

E 561—26

[Bombay Gazetteer,

202

STATES.

Chapter IL
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.

Special
Proceaaei.

Course of
Trade,

copper disc is occasionally used for polisting very hard stone, such
as Ceylon cat's-eyes and other precious stones, and for the softer
sort of pebbles, a plate of teak or other closegrained wood is used.
Fastening in its place on the roller the disc best suited to the
stone to be polished, the workman, squatting on his hams, steadies
the machine with his foot. A bow, with its string passed round
the wooden roller, is held in his right hand, and by moving the bow
backwards and forwards, the roller and with it the polishing plate
is whirled round, while the article to be polished is held in the
workman's left hand, and, as it revolves, is pressed against the outer
face of the polishing disc.

Besides these three regular processes, certain articles require

special treatment. After beads have been chiselled into shape, to

smooth their surface, a number are fixed in a pair of wooden or

bamboo clamps, and rubbed on a coarse and hard smoothing stone

called dholia. Next they are grasped in a grooved clamp, and

rubbed along a wooden polishing board called patimdr. The

surface of this board is cut into grooves, and roughened by a

composition of emery and seed lac. To give beads their final

brilliancy, from one to several thousands of them, are, along with

emery dust and fine camelian powder, thrown into a strong leather

bag about two feet long and from ten to twelve inches across. The

mouth of the bag is tied, and a flat leather thong is passed round its

centre. Seated at opposite ends of a room, two men, each holding

one end of this leather thong, drag the bag backwards and forwards.

This rolling lasts from ten to fifteen days, and during the whole

time the bag is kept moistened with water. When the polishing

is complete, the beads are handed over to have holes bored. This

is done by a diamond-tipped steel drill, and as the drill works,

water is dropped into the hole through a thin narrow reed or metal

tube. Cut beads are polished on the wheel as well as rubbed

on the smoothing stone, and knife-handles are prepared in the

same way as cut beads. In making cups, saucers, and other hollow

articles, the outside is first chiselled into shape and ground on the

smoothing stone. To hollow the inside, the diamond- tipped drill

is worked to the depth of the fourth of an inch all over the space,

till the surface is honeycombed with drill holes. , The prominent

places round these holes are then chipped away till a hollow of

the desired depth has been formed. The inside is then polished

on a convex mould, of the same composition as the polishing plates,

and like them fastened to the polishing wheel. Miniature cannons

are bored by diamond-tipped drills. A smallheaded drill is first

worked, and then the number of diamonds on the head is gradually

increased from two to a circle of twelve. Flat ornaments, such as

paper-cutters, paper-weights and ornamental slabs, are cut into

layers of the required thickness by the toothless saw.

Cambay agate ornaments belong to three classes : those suited
for the Chinese, the Arab, and the European markets.'' For the

1 In 1787, seal shaped stones went to Europe and Arabia, pearl shaped stones as
big as a pistol ball, to China, and octagons to the Guinea Coast and Mozambique.
Hove's Tours : Bom. Gov. Sel. XVI. 49.

Oujardt.]

CAMBAY.

20$

Chinese market, carnelian ornaments only are in demand.. Of
these there are two kinds, flat stones named mugldigul, and beads
called dol. The flat stones, oval, square, and like watch seals, are
worn in China as armlets and dress ornaments. Plain polished
round beads are made into necklaces of fifty stones each. For the
Arab markets, the stones most in demand are Ranpur agates,
Ratanpur carnelians, cat^s-eyes, and bloodstone.^ These are wrought
into both plain and ornamental ring stones, necklaces, wristlets, and
armlets. Of necklaces there are those made of cut beads, peluddr
dol ; of diamond-cut beads, gokhruddr dol; of almond-sbaped beads,
feadamt doZ ; and of spearhead-shaped beads, chamakli dol. Again
there are necklaces of three stones called rnddaHa or twit, and of
plain round beads used as rosaries as well as necklaces.^ Of armlets
and wristlets there are those of two stones, mota mddalia worn
either on the arm or wrist; wristlets of seven round flat stones, pdtia;
wristlets of several flat stones, ponchi ; armlets: of one stone cut
into different fanciful devices, hdju ; and single stones in the shape
of large flat seals, wiwigfaL 'Rings, anguthi, a,ni stones for setting
as rings, nagina, are also made of carnelian and cat's-eye. For the
European markets, the ornaments most in demand are models of
cannon with carriage and trappings, slabs for boxes or square tables,
cups and saucers, chessmen, flower vases, pen racks, card and letter
racks, watch stands, inkstands, knife-handles, rulers, paper-cutters,
penholders, necklaces, bracelets, brooches, paper weights, crochet
needles, sUk -winders, marbles, brace and shirt studs, seals, and rough
stones polished on one side. Within the last thirty years (1851)
part of the trade with Arabia lay through Veraval in south-west
Kathiawar. At present (1878), except a very small supply for the
Sind and Cabul markets taken by the horse-dealers and other
Afghans who visit Oambay, the whole produce is bought by Bombay
merchants, chiefly of the Bohora caste, and by them sent from
Bombay to China, Arabia, and Europe.

According to the latest details, the trade in Cambay stones at
present supports about six hundred families of skilled workmen,
and from five hundred to. six hundred unskilled labourers. The-
skilled workmen are all Kanbis, the labourers Musalmans and
Kolis. The whole body of skilled workmen includes four distinct
classes, each engaged on a separate process. Compared with, the-
1850 returns, the figures for 1878 show a fall, from two.to, one hundred
in the number of polishers on the rough stone, doUde.. On. the other
hand the workers on the lapidaries' wheel, ghdsidsj have remained
steady at three hundred, the drillers, vindhdrs, at one hundred, and
the polishers on the wooden frame, patimdrs, at fifty.'

Chapter II.
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.

Course of
Trade.

Poliahtrt.

• Jet ornaments were formfidy (1851) exported to Arabia, ; of late years the trade has

2 The demand fbrnecklaoes. of oblong flat beads, kdtU,,is said to have ceased.

3 Within the last thirty years.about 167 families of agate workers have abandoned
their craft. Of these, seven have gone to Ahmedabad ;, ten to Baroda ; twenty-five
to Bombay ; and 125 have become cultivators, in Oambay. Those in Ahmedabad
have taken tosilk- weaving ; thoseinBaroda to tobaccorse-lling, polishing precious stones,
and weaving ; those in Bombay to stone-polishing and glass-mending. The Bombay
settlers still keep up their connection with Caonbay, going there for marriage and

[Bombay Gazetteer,

204

STATES.

Chapter II.
Hanufactures.
Cambay Stones.

Trade Ouilde,

Each process is carried on in a distinct workshop. At the head
of each workshop, kdrlchdna, is a well-to-do Kanbi known as the
Icdrkhdndvdla, or head of the factory. This headman, though
generally not above working with his own hands, has under him,
besides a varying number of labourers, from two to ten skilled
workers. The skilled workers, all grown men, as women and
children do not help, receive monthly wages each according to the
work he has done ; the unskilled labourers, many of them boys, are
paid by the day or as their services are wanted. From the richest of
the workshop heads, the highest class of agate workers, the agate
dealers, akikids, are recruited. The akikia, who must be a man of
some capital, buys the stones as they come rough into the Cambay
market. In his factory the rough stones are sawn and chiselled,
and then, according to the nature of the stone and the use to which
it is to be put, he hands it over to the headman of one of the
polishing factories. When the work is completed, the Cambay
dealer disposes of the finished articles to the agate merchants of
Bombay, or sends them through Bombay, to Calcutta, China, or
Jadda. According to the returns, the number of agate dealers,
akikids, in Cambay has, during the last twenty-five years, fallen
from one hundred to fifty.

In each branch of the craft the heads of factories form a distinct
guild or panchdyat. Th6re is the guild of polishers on stone,
dolia panchdyat ; of polishers on wood, patimdr panchdyat ; of
workers on the lapidaries' wheel, ghdsia panchdyat ; and of drillers,
vindhdr panchdyat. Above them is the dealers' guild, akikia
panchdyat, in whose factories the work of sawing and chiselling
is carried on. Over each of these guilds a headman, chosen by
the votes of the members, presides. There is no combination
among the workers in the dififerent factories, and there is no record
of any dispute between the workers and their employers. Any
skilled worker who raises himself to be head of a factory, may
become a member of the guild of the branch of the craft to which
he belougs. On joining a guild the new comer is expected to give
a feast to the members, the expense varying from £17 10s. to £80
(Rs. 175 - 800). He is at the same time required to pay the Nawab
a fee of from £1 10s. to £10 (Rs. 15-100).i Prom time to time the
members of a guild hold a feast meeting the charges out of the
common funds. In any factory, if one of the skilled workers
wishes to have a son taught the craft, or, if a new hand is anxious
to join, he gives a dinner to the head of the workshop and to the other
skilled workers. Except in making arrangements for the unpaid
service due to the Nawab, the trade funds would seem to be applied

death ceremonies. They have also, both publicly and in their houses, shrines
representing the tomb of the founder of their craft. (These and some of the particulars
about the trade unions have been obtained from one of the Kanbis settled in
Bombay).

' Some years ago the details were, to join the dolia guild, £19 (£17 10«. in
dinners and £1 10«. for the Nawdb) ; to join the jr/ttisja guild, £37 (£35 in dinners and
£2 for the Nawdb) ; to join the patimdr guild, £15 (£12 10«. in dinners and £2 10s.
for the Naw4b) ; and to join the aidkia guild, £90 (£80 in dinners and £10 for the
Xawilj). At present (1876) a fee is paid to the Nawdb only on joining the akikia
guild.

Qi^jarit.]

CAMBAY.

205

to no purpose but that of entertaining the members. When a guild
feast is held, if one of its members chances to be sick, his share
of the dinner is sent him. With this exception, the practice of using
trade funds to support the sick or those out of work, or to provide
for widows and orphans, is unknown.

On paying the Nawab a fee, and agreeing to meet the customary
charges includinga yearly subscription of £1 4s. (Rs. 12), any member
of one of the nnder-guilds may become a dealer, akikia. About four
years ago, the heavy cost of joining the ahikia guild caused a dispute.
Certain of the polishers, ghdsids, claimed the right to deal in stones
without becoming members of the akikia guild. The regular dealers
were too strong for them, and, failing to get any business, they were
forced to leave Cambay. With some families of drillers they retired
to Ahmedabad. But, finding themselves no better off there, they
returned to Cambay.

The guilds are useful in arranging for the service due to the Nawab.
When the Nawab wants a lapidary, he tells the dealers' guild what
work he wishes done. The chief of the dealers sends to the master
of one workshop in each branch of the craft, telling him what is
wanted, and asking him if he will undertake the duty. If he agrees,
and there is generally in each class one master -worker who
undertakes the NawaVs orders, he receives from £5 to £6 (Rs. 50-
60) from the guild funds. Among guild rules, one forbids
master-workers engaging the services of workmen belonging to
another factory. Another lays down certain days, amounting in all
to about two months in the year, to be kept as holidays. Breaches
of the rules are punished by fines varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s.

(Rs. U-2i).

Some authorities hold that the murrhine cups so highly prized
by the Romans, were the moss agate cups still made in Cambay.^
Others hold that, under the name Sardonyx Mons, Ptolemy (150)
referred to the Rajpipla mines. But Ptolemy's Sardonyx hills are
far inland, and when the author of the Periplus (247) visited Gujarat,
agates and onyx stones came to Broach from a distance, from Ujain
in Malwa and from Plithana (Paithan) in the Deccan.^

Chapter II.
Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.
Trade Guilds.

Ewtory,

' Vincent (Commerce of the Ancients, II. 407, 412) thinks murrha was porce-
lain ; Riddle's Latin Dictionary calls it fluor spar ; LJddel and Scott incline to agate.
The Emperor Nero paid £58.126 (300 talents) for a murrhine cup. (Vincent, II.
727). According to Pliny (77 a,d.) Indian agates had many wonderful qualities.
Thfty were good for scorpion bites, had the appearance of rivers, woods, beasts of
butden, and forms like ivy. The sight of them was good for the eyes, and held in the
mouth they allayed thirst. Bostock's Pliny, VI. 440. Herodotus (484 B.C.) speaks
of the sard and onyx being brought from India to be used as finger rings. Every one
in Babylon wore agate rings (Lassen's Ind. Alt. II. 562). Lassen traces a reference
to the Cambay agate trade in Vaidurya, that is an onyx, an old Sanskrit name for
west India from the Narbada to Gokarna. Ind. Alt. I. 180.

2 Ujain in Mdlwa (north latitude 23° 10' east longitude 74° 47'). Plithina,
probably Paithan on the GodAvari (north latitude 19° 29 east longitude 75° 28'). A
trace of this Decean manufacture of agates is preserved, by the Russian traveller
Athanasius Nikotin (1468-1474), who says, at Kurula, apparently near Gulbargah,
the afo'i is produced and worked and exported to all parts of the world. (Major's India
in the XVth Century, III. 30). Neobold (Jour. R. A. Soo. IX. 37) mentions that
camelians, Mocha stone,and Moss 3.gate are found in the Krislma, Goddvari, and Bhima.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

206

STATES.

Chapter II.

Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.
History,

So far as has been traced, the Musalman travellers of the ninth
and tenth centuries make no mention of an agate trade at
Cambay.^ Marco Polo (1290) says nothing of a special agate
trade, either in his description of Cambay or in the notices of the
Arabian and African ports then connected by commerce with
Gujarat. The fifteenth century travellers make only a casual
reference to the agate as one of the products of Cambay. Early
in the sixteenth century, the agate trade seems to have risen
to importance. Varthema (1503-1508) speaks of two mountains,
one of carnelians about seventy, the other of diamonds about
one hundred miles, from Cambay.^ About this time, according to a
tradition of the Cambay agate workers, an Abyssinian merchant
came to Gujarat, and established an agate factory at Nandod in
Eajpipla. At first the stones were prepared by Musalmans, but the
Kanbis were not long in learning the craft. The merchant died at
Nandod, and his tomb is near the well known tomb of Bawa Ghor
at the ford of that name across the river Narbada. After some
time, according to the same account, the Kanbi agate workers left
Nandod and came to settle in Broach, and from Broach went to
Cambay.* A few years later, at the different east African and
Arabian ports, the Portuguese traveller Barbosa (1514) mentions
the agates and carnelians, and the grey, yellow, and red beads of
Cambay as among the chief articles of trade.* At Cambay itself,
besides some Moorish women who worked in coral, agate, and
other stones, this traveller found skilled artists with the lathe
turning beads of great size, brown, yellow, and blue, and cunning
lapidaries and imitators of precious stones of all kinds. At this time
few of the agate workers were settled in Cambay. Their head-
quarters were at Limadura (Limodra or Nimodra), a town inland
from Cambay, where the agates were found. At Limadura the
polished stones were bought by Cambay merchants and sent to the
Eed Sea, Persia, and Nubia, besides supplying the Portuguese, who

• MAsudi (913), who says nothing of its agates, mentions an emerald, beautifully
green and brilliant, found near Cambay. It was called makki because the Arabs
carried it from India to Aden and on to Mokha. Prairies d'Or, III. 49. A doubtful
passage would seem to show that in the eighth century, Gujardt was so famous for its
agates as to be called Akihshetra or agate land. Wilson's Mackenzie Collection, 1. u. 11.

^ -Badger's Varthema, 107, and note. The diamonds were perhaps the crystals still
found in KAthidwir. So Csesar Frederic (1585), among the products of Cambay,
talks of several varieties of natural diamonds. Hakluyt s Voyages, II. 343.

2 The Sidi merchant is still remembered by the Hindu agate workers. Each
year on the day of his death Shrdvan sudpurnima (July -August full -moon), they
offer flowers and cocoanuts at his tomb. As it is far to go from Cambay to Bdwa
Ghor, they have in Cambay a cenotaph, talciya, in his honour, and those of them
who are settled in Bombay have brought with them this memorial of the founder of
their craft. The Cambay agate workers assert that the well known shrine of BAwa
Ghor was raised in honour of their patron. According to their story, while wandering
from place to place as a religious beggar, the BAwa did business in precious stones,
and, becoming skilled in agates, set up a factory at Nimodra, Here he prospered
and died rich. The local legend of the saint of BAwa Ghor makes no mention
of his success as an agate dealer. The colony of Sidis found by Captain FuUjames in
1832 was, perhaps, a remnant of the original band of Abyssinian agate workers.
Trans. Bom. Geo. Soc. 2-76.

* Stanley's Barbosa, 5, 27, 31 . Barbosa's word for the agate is, in Stanley's trans-
lation, printed alaquequa. This word probably comes from the Arabic al dkih.

Chijar&t.]

CAMBAY.

207

are said to have increased the demand.^ Two other notices of its
agate trade occur in sixteenth century accounts of Cambay. One
in 1554 speaks of a profusion of carnelians^ bdbdghor. The other,
about twenty years later, mentions great stones like to carnelians,
granates, agates, diaspry, calcedony, hematists, and some kinds of
natural diamonds.^ In the beginning of the seventeenth century
(1611), in Goa all precious stone workers were from Cambay and had
separate streets and shops.^ Forty years later (1651) Tavernier
speaks of Cambay as the place where the agate cups are hollowed,
and, during the eighteenth century, there is more than one notice of
the agate trade as one of the most important of Cambay industries.*
For a few years, during the present century, details are available
showing the estimated value of the outturn of the agate factories.
Those for 1805 give an export of manufactured carnelians, estimated
at £6223 (Es. 62,230) j those for 1843 give £9490 (Rs. 94,900);
and the returns for the five years ending 1878 an average of about
£7000 (Rs. 70,000).^

Chapter II.

Manufactures.

Cambay Stones.
History,

• Stanley's Barbosa, 65-67. Limadura is Nimodra, a village close to the Rdjpipla
agate minea. Barbosa gives the following details of the preparation of the agates.
After being dug up in large blocks, and exposed to fire to bring out the colour, the
carnelians are handed over to great artists who work them into rings, buttons,
knife-handles, and beads. Here, too, chalcedony beads which, he adds, they call
bdbdghor, were worn touching the skin, as they were thought to keep the wearer
chaste.

2 Sidi Ali Kapudhan (1554). Jour. As. Soo. Beng. V. 2, 463. Csesar Frederic
(1585), Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 343.

3 Pyrard de Laval : Voyages, 11. 214, 220.

* Tavernier in Harris, II. 353, ' Here they shape those fair agates that come from
India, into cups, knife hafts, beads and other sorts of workmanship. These agates
are fetched out of the quarries by a village named Nimodra sixteen miles from Cambay,
in pieces -as big as a man's fist.' Besides Laval and Tavernier, other travellers of the
seventeenth century notice the Cambay agate trade. Finch (1608) mentions the
mine of agates near Broach (Harris, I. 90) ; Herbert (1626) notices agates as one of the
chief articles oflfered for sale at SwAli (Harris, I. 411) ; Mandelslo (1638) speaks of them
as 'so famous in Europe' (Harris, II. 113) ; Ogilby (1670, Atlas, V. 216) says, six days
from Cambay is a mountain which produces carnelians and chalcedony, and a league
from Broach is another chalcedony mine ; and Ovington(1690) cites them as one of the
chief articles of export at Surat. (Voyages, 218). Of eighteenth century travellers,
Hamilton (1700-1720) mentions, among articles made at Cambay, stones for signets and
rings some of them worth double their weight in gold, cabinets of stone, in some cases
fourteen or fifteen inches long and eight or nine deep, worth from £30 to £40, bowls
and spoons of several sizes, handles of swords, daggers, and knives, buttons and stones
to set in snuff boxes of great value. (New Account, I. 140, 145). Half a century later
(1750), Tieflenthaler says that the white Katanpur agate, baked red at the mines, was
m Broach and Cambay, worked into vases, little plates, basins, and other pieces, and
sold in Surat and thence taken to Europe. He also notices Kapadvanj agates worked
in Cambay into different figures and made into vases, plates, and saucers. (Res. Hist,
et Geog. de I'lnde, I. 390, 392). About the same time, the author of the Mirit-i- Ahmadi
(1748-1762) mentions rings like those of Yeman, necklaces, cups, handles for knives,
and daggers (Bird, 104). Towards the close of the same century, Forbes (1783) found
the agate manufacture a valuable part of Cambay trade. (Or. Mem. II. 20).

^ These figures would seem to show that, during the present century, the agate
trade has not declined, a result at variance with the fact that the numbers engaged in
the trade have considerably fallen off. It is to be noticed that the beginning of the
century was a period of depression, as, in addition to the regular duty of £53 16s. 3d.
per cent, a special war cess of £17 Ss. 9d. was for some years imposed, making a total
charge on manufactured agate stones of £71 5s. per cent. The trade fluctuates so
greatly from year to year, that, without returns for a series of years, no certain results
can be obtained. The variations during the eight years ending 1878 were : 1871,
Rs. 75,080 ; 1872, Rs. 78,490; 1873, Rs. 98,840; 1874, Rs. 84,370; 1875,
Rs. 90,720 ; 1876, Rs. 53,160 ; 1877, Rs. 69,170; and 1878, Rs. 50,970. Figures taken

[Bombay G-azetteer,

208

STATES.

Chapter II.
Mannfactures.

Cloth.

Carpets.

£mbroideiy.

Salt.

A certain quantity of the once famous black cloth, kdla kapda,
is still made for export to Zanzibar in Africa, and to Mokha, Jadda,
and other Red Sea ports. Of black cloth there are three kiads,
known in the trade as haddmi, garb hi, and mim judi, costing
from 6s. to £1 4s. (Es. 3-12) the piece of five yards long and
one and a half wide. There is also a blue cloth called gulkhdr.
Several kinds of sheets, chddar, are made in pieces about two
and a quarter yards long by one broad, and varying in price from
4s. to 16s. (Rs. 2-8). Scarfs, lungis (sometimes called namidnus),
are also made. The pieces, of the same size as chddars, are sold
at prices varying according to quality. Those worked with silk and
tinsel fetch £1 (Rs. 10). The only Cambay cloth still in request
is that used for dhotis and sddis. This is woven almost entirely
by Hindus of the Kanbi and Salvi castes. The prices vary
according to quality and breadth.

Cambay carpets had once a great name. Among the articles
mentioned in the proclamation of 1630, 'for restraining the excess
of private trade to the East Indies', are 'rich carpets of Cambay.'
Later on, a chief part of the Senior Factor's duty at Cambay was to ^
buy carpets ' valuable in Europe'; and, in another place, Cambay
carpets are spoken of as equal to any of Turkey or Persia. Though
this trade has greatly fallen off, there are still four carpet factories,
each paying the Nawab a yearly tax of £1 10s. (Rs. 15).^

Some Muhammadan women still earn a little by embroidering
children's caps, but the weaving of brocade and cloth of gold has
ceased.

Till lately (1880) the Cambay salt works contributed about one-sixth
of the state revenue.^ They lay inland, beyond the city walls, about
two and a half miles from the head of the gulf. The pans, covering
a space about two miles long, and on an average a quarter of a
mile broad, were surrounded by a row of earthen mounds, gradually
formed by the earth scraped from the pans. Formerly, at spring
tides, the sea water came up to this embankment, and by suitable
cuttings as much water as was needed was easily obtained.
Latterly, owing to the gradual silting of the gulf, the spring
tides failed to reach the embankment, and, to get water,

from the Honourable Bast India Company's yearly sales show that, at the beginning
of the century, the fluctuations were even greater; 1804, Rs. 49,140; 1805, Rs. 59,900;
1806, Es. 17,470; 1807, Es. 1,11,870; 1808, Rs. 54,240. Milbum's Oriental Commerce,
I. 279.

1 Tavemier (1651) speaks of silk, and silk and silver and gold, carpets made for the
most part in GujarAt. (Harris, II. 373). The dyes used in carpet-making are saflSower,
kasumba, Carthamus tinctorius, Indian madder, sorangi, and indigo, imported from
MAlwa and Gujarat. The cotton thread is washed in cold water, and then dipped
several times in boiling castor-oil. It is next soaked in water in which madder
powder has been steeped. The cost of dyeing red is £1 4s. (Rs. 12) for each 40 pounds
of thread, and the cost of indigo dyeing about 16s. (Rs. 8) for 40 pounds. Weavers
are paid by piece-work at the rate of 2s. (Re, 1) for 16 square feet (4 square gaz) ; and
the carpets sell for Is. 3(i. to 2s. (10-16 annaa) every 2 square feet.

2 Besides the common salt, in the eighteenth century, the medicinal salt called
smichal is said to have been made at Cambay, by boiling a grass called morand in
the manner usually followed in procuring the oxide of lead known as murddrsing.
(Mirdt-i-Ahmadi, 1748 - 1762, 1 05). Sanchal or bit laban is generally said to be made of
samur, an impure muriate of soda, and emblic myrobalans. Balfour's Cyclopcedia.

Gujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

209

trenches had to be dug from a quarter to one mile long. Since
1878, on receiving a yearly payment of £4000 (Rs. 40,000), the
Nawab has closed his salt works. He is still allowed, for the use of
his court, to produce up to 500 Indian mans of salt a year.^

MONEY LENDING.

Money-lending is chiefly in the hands of Vanias and Shravaks
with a few Brahmans and Kanbis. For merchants the yearly rate
of interest is usually from' six to twelve per cent, and for cultivators
it is nearly the same, with a further premium of one or two per
cent. If ornaments are pledged lower rates are taken.

When the Nawab is in want of money he obtains funds from the
town bankers, who, if the loan is for only a short time, do not as a
rule insist upon interest. If the loan is not paid for a long time, a
low rate is charged, in no case more than nine per cent. The custom
of presenting the lender with a sum of money or some articles of
value at the time of repaying the loan, makes up to the banker for
the low rates of interest. Large sums, raised on the occasion of a
marriage or funeral in the Nawab' s family, are generally repaid by
assigning the revenues of certain villages.

The Nawab has a mint at which both silver and copper are coined.
The silver coins are rupees, half rupees, and quarter rupees ; the
copper coins pice, half pice, and quarter pice. Both the silver and
copper currency are of the rudest workmanship. The Cambay
rupee is ff of the Imperial coin, the present (1880) rate of exchange
being twenty-five per cent in favour of the British currency.

A comparison of the available price returns shows a most marked
rise in the value of field produce. The 1878 prices were, by local
failure of crops, forced up almost to famine pitch. But, though
1876 was a year of plenty, prices ruled very much higher than in
1846.

Prices (Pounds for two ShilUnga),

Article.

Ykak.

1846.

1876.

1878.

Millet

Rice

Pulae

Wheat

Gram

Cotton (cleaned) ...

8 to 10

Tobacco

Chapter II.
Trade.

Money Lending.

Currency,

Prices,

' Gov. Res. 273, 13th Jan. 1880. Since 1802, the British Government have had a
half share in the profits of the Cambay salt works. Before the days (1837) of a salt
excise the revenue was thus divided. The produce of each pan was piled into two equal
heaps, one the property of the makers, and the other, half the Nawdb's and half the
British Government's. The makers took away their share, and the rest was sold by
British and Cambay officers. When the Imperial salt duty was first levied, the NawAb
after some objection, agreed to introduce into his territory the rates prevailing in the
neighbouring British districts,

B 561—27

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210

STATES.

Chapter II.
Trade.

Wages.

Weight*.

The daily wages are, for skilled labour Is. 6d. (12 as.) for masons,
sawyers, carpenters, and bricklayers, and Is. Sd. (10 as.) for
plasterers; and for unskilled labourers 4^d. (3 as.) To equalize the
burden of the state demand for unpaid labour, masons, sawyers,
bricklayers, and plasterers, bring their wages every evening to the
head of their caste, and the whole is equally divided. A carpenter,
out of his day's earnings, pays ^d. (4 pies), and from this sum Is. 2d.
(10 as.) a day are made over to each carpenter who is working
for the Nawab. The balance goes to repair rest-houses and pay
for caste feasts. Each unskilled labourer receives 4|cZ. (2 as. 9 pies).
The other %d. {6 pies) is paid by the employer to a state officer who
collects t he amount from all employers of labour, and from it pays
i^d. (3 as.) to every unskilled worker engaged by the Nawab.

Oambay weights, the ser of one pound, the man of forty pounds,
and the khdndi of 20 mans or 800 pounds avoirdupois, are the same
as those in Kaira.

Gnjardt]

CHAPTER III.

HISTORY.

Cambay history is throughout little more tlan the record of the
main events connected with its chief town. It divides itself into
•three parts. An early period lasting till (1304) the final Musalman
conquest of Anhilvada;* a middle period, about four hundred and
thirty years (1304-1 730), when Cambay formed part of the Musalman
kingdom and province of Gujarat; and a modern period, from 1730,
the record of Cambay aa a distinct state.

According to Dr. Biihler the ancient Sanskrit name of Cambay is
Stambhatirth, 'the pillar shrine'. The modern Gujardti Khambhayat,
or Khambhat, is a corruption of Skamhhatirth, stambh and skambh
both meaning 'pillar '. According to the phonetic laws of the Prakrit
languages, initial sk is always changed to hh; rth becomes by
assimilation tth,^ and medial t between vowels may be dropped.
Thus the older Prakrit form was Khambhdittha, whence, through the
loss ^ of the final syllable and the change of i to ya, the G ujarati
Khamhhdyat, and, by a further contraction of the last two syllables,
Khambhat have been derived. What is meant by stambh, the first
part of the name, is somewhat doubtful. The local legend that, in
olden times, a copper pillar stood not far from the town gate,
probably grew out of the following passage in the Kumar ika
Khand.*

After Kumar's victory over Tarakasur, the grateful gods,
admiring Guh with folded hands, spoke to him: 'We wish
to tell thee something, listen. Of a truth it is reported since
olden times, as a well known custom of conquerors, that those
who overcome their foes, place on the field of battle a sign of
their victory. Hence a most excellent pillar, stambha, to celebrate
thy victory (over Tarakasur), we wish to fix; thou shouldest permit
us to do that, and the third excellent ling which Visvakarma
wrought, do, thou, a son of Shiv, place in front of the pillar.' When

Chapter III.
History.

The Name.

' Anhilpur, Anhilvd,da, or Nehrvdla the modem Pdtan, north latitude 23° 48'
east longitude 72° 2', on the south bank of the Saraavati river, 65 miles north-east of
AhmedM)ad.

' Compare the Jain titthayar=:tirth,ankar. Dr. Biihler.

' Corrrpaxe Bharukachchha=-Bliaruchchha=:Bhariich. Dr. Biihler.

* Kumdresh Mahdtmya, Adhydya XXX. This Kumdrika Khand, a very bulky
legend, mahdtmya, professes to be part of the Skand-Pur4n, and to give the origin
and history of the KumArika-Kshetra in general and of Stambha-tirtti in particular.
It has no historical value and has been written by persons who knew very little of
Sanskrit. It may be from 400 to 500 years old, Dr, Buhler.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

212

STATES.

Chapter III. the gods had thus spoken^ highminded Skand gave his consent.
History. Then the crowds of the gods, chief of whom is Sakra^ placed on the

The Name ^^^^ °^ battle an excellent, brilliant pillar of pure gold. Aronnd it

they raised an altar of earth, adorned with all precious substances.
Jojrfully the Apsaras danced there. The mothers, full of gladness,
sang songs of auspicious omen for Kumdr. Indra and others
danced there, and Vishnu himself played (the drum). From the sky
fell showers of flowers, and the drums of the gods resounded. When
thus the pillar, called that of victory, which gladdened the world,
had been erected, the son of three-eyed Shiv established the {ling
of the) divine Stambheshvar in company with the rejoicing gods,
Brahma, Hari, Har, and Indra, and with crowds of sages. To the
west of that, highminded G-uh, with the point of his spear, dug a
well. There Ganga rises from the ground. The man, son of
Pandu, who there performs funeral rites, pitritarpan, on the eighth
day of the dark half of Mdgh (February), and bathes in that well,
will surely obtain the reward attending the performance of a
funeral ceremony, shrdddh, at Gaya. If he then worships the divine
Stambheshvar with perfumes and flowers, he will obtain the reward
of a Vdjpeya sacrifice, and rejoice in Rudra's seat.'

Dr. Biihler adds, ' I am not inclined to attach much weight to
the reason by which the legend explains the fact that Shiv was
worshipped at Cambay as Stambheshvar or 'lord of the pillar'.
But it seems to me that the fact itself, which is also mentioned in
other passages of the Kumarika Khand (III. 40), furnishes a simple
explanation of the name of the town. I believe that Stambh must
be taken as one of the many names of Shiv, and that Stamhhatirth
means etymologically ' the shrine of pillar-shaped Shiv '. Though I
am not in a position to prove that Shiv received elsewhere the surname
Stambh, there are two circumstances which afford countenance to
my conjecture. First, the usual symbol of Shiv, the ling, is in the
older temples, such as those of Valla, nothing but a simple hexa-
gonal or round pillar, and might not inappropriately be called a
stambh. Second, there is another very common name of Shiv,
athdnu, the etymological import of which is likewise 'a, post or pillar'.
These two points, coupled with the fact that Shiv was, and is, wor-
shipped in Cambay as 'lord of the pillar', incline me to translate
the ancient name of the town as ' the shrine of pillar-shaped Shiv,
or Shiv Stambheshvar'. The other names of the town, Stambhavati
and Trambavati are, in my opinion, merely modem attempts to
make a Sanskrit word out of the Prakrit form.^ Neither name
occurs in Jain or Brahman writings of any antiquity. The Kuma-
rika Mahdtmya professes also to fix the date of the foundation of
the tirth. It informs us, in the third Adhydya, that the sage
Narad received from a king of Saurashtra or Sorath, called

' These names are not real Sanskrit. The long a^in Stambhdvati is inappropriate
and is due to the desire of its inventor to preserve the long vowel which occurs in
Khambhit. TramMvati is a monster consisting of the Gujardti trdmbun 'copper ', to
which the Sanskrit affix ' vat ' has beei) added. It has probably been manufactured
by a la/pidvm caput, that required a support for the copper walls or copper pillar
attributed by some legends to the ancient to^'n. Dr. Btthler.

Gnjarit.]

CAMBAY. 213

DharmaTarma, a considerable present in money and a piece of land Chapter III.
at the mouth of the Mahi extending over seven gavyuiis, or, taking History,

the gavyuti at four thousand hastas, about twenty square miles.
The Eishi earned this magnificent grant by the explanation of a
verse, which king Dharmavarma had heard recited by a Khavdni,
' a voice which did not proceed from a body/ and which had baflled
all native and foreign Pandits. In order to people his newly-
acquired territory, Narad went to Katapagram, a locality stated
to be situated in Northern India near Kedarnath, and where a
large colony of particularly learned and saintly Brahmans dwelt.
He persuaded a number of them to emigrate to his kshetra on the
Mahisagar, and miraculously carried them through the air on the
topofhisstafe.'i

The local story of Trambavati^ connects the city with the Gard- Legends,

dhabins or Gardhabas, a dynasty supposed to have ruled in Western
India in the early centuries of the Christian era.* According to
this legend, Gadhesing, a son of the god Indra, and one of the
Gandharvas or heavenly choristers, displeasing his father, was
condemned, during the hours of day, to wear the form of an
ass. Wandering in this shape^ he visited the country between the
Mahi and the Sabarmati, and, falling in love with the daughter
of the chief, sought her in marriage. The chief agreed on one
condition, that, in a single night, the suitor should fence the city
with a wall of brass. By morning the wall was finished, and eyer
after the capital was known as Tramb^vati, or the abode of brass.
From the marriage of the Gandharva with the chief's daughter was
born Vikram, the third king of that name, who ruled at Ujain in
Malwa about the middle of the fifth century a.d.*

' Kum. VI. 46. This is, no doubt, a reminiscence of the settlement of Brdhmans
at Cambay during the reign of MulrAj of AnhilvAda (942-997) of which an account
is given below, p. 214. The drawback to the story in the Mahdtmya is that king
Dharmavarma of Sorath is not mentioned elsewhere. During the last two thousand
years, Sorath has rarely been under independent princes. It was first (315-178 B.C.)
a dependency of the Maurya kingdom, ruled by a governor living at Girn^r. Next it
belonged to the Kshatrapas, or SAkaa (about 150 a. d.), and, between the second and
eighth centuries, first to the Guptas and then to the Valabhi kings. Only during the
eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries had Sorath kings of its own, who, accord-
ing to the Jains, were Abhirs, and, according to their own account, YAdavs. Next,
in the twelfth century, the province passed to the ChAlukyas of AnhilvAda, and,
lastly, about the close of the thirteenth century, again to the Yddavs. Dr. Biihler.

2 Under the Valabhi kings (319-658) mention is made of a city at the mouth of the
Mahi called Gajni. This, a place of consequence and one of the chief ports of the
kingdom, is said to have been destroyed at the time of the final sack of Valabhi, an
event still undetermined, though it probably took place during the seventh century.
RAs Mila, I. 21.

' Wilson's Ariana Antiqua, 410.

■• Wilford (As. Rea. IX. 147-155 ; Prinsep's Ant. I. 342) was inclined to trace in
this legend a reference to the visit (420 - 440) paid to India by Bahram V. of Persia
called Gor or the wild-ass. This prince is supposed to have come to India to gain allies
in his struggles with the Skythian tribe of Euthalites or White Huns, and is said to
have connected himself by marriage with the house of the king of Kanauj, or, as related
in another version, with a chief whose territories lay near the mouth of the Mahi.
According to the latter account, Bahram Gor, when in India, founded a city near the
capital of his father-in-law. This town was called Oadhendrapuri, and from its name
and position, ' one day's march north of Broach,' the legend may perhaps have some
connection with the ruined city of GandhAr on the south bank of the Mahi.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

214

STATES.

Chapter III.
History.

The Balhar4a,
913.

The ChAlukyas,
942-1240.

Another legend tells of tlie fall of Trambavati and the founding
of Khambavati. Raja Abhi Kumar of Trambavati^ warned by an idol
that his town would be buried in a storm of dust and sand, taking
the idol and its pedestal, left his town, and put to sea. The storm
rose, and the town was overthrown, but by the pillar's help the king's
ship came safe to land. Setting up the idol he began to build a city,
and, after the pillar of the god, called it Khambavati.^

The first historical references to Cambay are by the early Musalman
writers. At the beginning of the tenth century, the Arab traveller
Masudi (913), describes Cambay as standing on a deep bay larger
than that of the Nile, the Tigris, or the Euphrates, and with so strong
central a tide that when it was low the sand was dry, and, even in
the channel, only a little water was left. The shores of the gulf
were covered with towns, villages, farms, tilled fields, trees and
cocoanut gardens full of peacocks, paroquets, and other Indian
birds.^ The city, famous for its sandals, was governed by a Brahman,
named Bania, who ruled in the nam.e of the Balhara of Mankir,
and was full of care for Musalman traders and other strangers.'

About the middle of the tenth century (942) the Chalukyas*
conquered Anhilvada. They spread their power over Broach and the
lands at the mouth of the Mahi, and the town of Cambay was one of
their ports. Shortly before the close of his reign (997), Mulraj,
the founder of the dynasty, added to the importance of Cambay
by settling there a Brahman colony. One company of Brahmans,
brought by the king from Upper India, refused to stay in Gujaratj
longing to return to the sacred banks of the Ganges. On consulting
the holy books, it was found that the spot where the Mahi entered
the ocean was inferior in sanctity to no place upon earth. Here they
agreed to settle, and the lands known as the Kumdrika Kshetra, the
field of Devi, stretching for eight miles round a temple sacred to
that goddess, were assigned to them.^ On the site of this temple
stands the old English factory.^ Not long after (1024), by the

1 EUiot's History, VI. 354. Colonel Tod (Western India, 247) relates the same
legend under a slightly different form. A prince, finding the ancient city no longer
fit for a residence, probably from the silting of the head of the gulf, determined to
change its site. Raising a pillar (athambh vulgo khamV) to the goddess, devi, on the
sea-shore, he wrote on it a grant of the ancient town, with eighty-four villages, whose
resources were to be applied to the maintenance of Devi's shrine.

2 Prairies d'Or, I. 253-254. Reinaud's Memoir Sur I'Inde, 221. Al Istakhiri (951)
and Ibn Haukal (1193) also mention Cambay. Elliot's History, I. 27, 39.

^ Prairies d'Or, I. 253 - 254. MAsudi's Balhara of Mankir is now generally supposed
to have been the RAthod ruler of MAlkhet in the Nizdm's dominions (north latitude
17° east longitude 77°). His territory stretched along the west coast as far south as
Chaul.

* Forbes' R4s MAla, I. 49. ' Forbes' RAs MAla, I. 65.

'Bom. Gov. Sel., New Series, XXVI. 76, note. This settlement of BrAhmans
in ' the field of Devi ' would seem to have been accompanied, by the transfer of the
city from its former site, three miles inland, to its present site near the shore of the
gulf. The legends of the transfer are, at least so far as the change of site goes,
supported by later accounts. Two European writers in the seventeenth century
(Dela Valle, 1623, andOgilby, 1670) notice, a league from Cambay, the ruins of an older
town ' the ancient royal seat and chief city of Sorath. ' This town De la Valle names
Naghera (Letters, 108) and Ogilby, Agra (Atlas, V. 213) , So, too, the author of the
Mir4t-i-Alimadi (174S - 1762) (Vol. III.), writes : They say that in ancient times there

Gujardt.]

CAMBAY.

21f

destruction of Somnath, Cambay became the chief Gujarat port,
and, with the growing greatness of Anhilvada rapidly rose in wealth
and prosperity. By the middle of the twelfth century it was a
well known naval station, fertile, and with good trade, well supplied
with water and protected by a fine fortress. ^ About the same
time mention is made of Parsi and Musalman riots in Cambay.
One of the Musalmans, whose faction was worsted, made his way to
Anhilvada, and meeting the king, Sidhraj Jaysing (1094 - 1 143),
hunting near his capital, complained to him that the Parsis and
Hindus had attacked the Musalmans, killed eighty of them, and
destroyed their mosque and minaret. To satisfy himself of the
truth of the charge, the king set off secretly on a camel, and, moving
about Cambay under a disguise, heard enough to convince him that
the Musalmans had been badly used. On his return to Anhilvada
he summoned two leading men from each class of the people of
Cambay, Brahmans, Fire-worshippers, and others (Jains), and
ordered them to be punished. At the same time he made over to
the Musalmans money enough to rebuild their mosque and towers.
About the end of the twelfth century, Jaysing' s mosques were
destroyed when the Bala army invaded Anhilvada. They were again
rebuilt by a certain Syed Sharaf Tamin, who made four towers
with golden cupolas.^

During the reign of Bhimdev II. in the year 1241, Vastupal, the
famous Jain minister of Bhim's steward Lavanprasad and of his son
Sana Virdhaval, was for some time governor of Cambay.^ He
founded the religious institutions of the Jains, the Poshatas, and
libraries of Cambay. This is distinctly stated by his friend the
Purohit Someshvar, in the Kirti Kaumudi (IV. 30 seqq.), and is
confirmed by the fact that the oldest MSS. of the Jain Bhandars
date from the first half of the thirteenth century. He also built
Jain temples, probably those whose stones were afterwards (1308)
used to build the Jama Mosque.

Under the Vaghelas, the last of the Anhilvada dynasties, Cambay
continued to increase in importance. At the close of the thirteenth
century the Musalman invaders knew of it as the first city in Hind.
Nor were they disappointed. The writers are full of the beauty of the
neighbourhood and the wealth of the city. The air was pure, the
water clear, and the country charming both in scenery and buildings.

Chapte^XIII.
History.

The Pirsis,
1100.

The Jains,
1241 - 1242.

The VigheUa,
1240-1304.

was a great city where the village of Nagrah now is, three miles (1 J ios) from Cambay.
This city was called Tambtoagri, and its walls were of copper, and in support of this
it is said that once, digging for a well, the workers found a copper brick (Major J.
W. Watson). With regard to the date of the transfer, it seems worthy of note, that
while IbnHaukal (943-968), who wrote before SidhrAj's grant, places the town of
Kambaya six miles (one parasang) inland (Elliot's History, I. 39), Edrisi (1153), who
wrote after the grant, places it only three miles from the sea (Jaubert's Edrisi, 171).
Nagrah is mentioned by Briggs (1838) as a hamlet five miles north-west of the city.
Cities of GujarAshtra, 166.

' Jaubert's Edrisi (1153), 172, and Elliot's History, I. 84.

2 Muhammad Ufi (1211 - 1236) in Elliot's History, II, 162 - 164, where BAla is sup-
posed to mean MAlwa.

3 Kirti Kaumudi. III. and Girnir and Abu inscriptions. Dr. Biihler. Their dates
ahow that the present Jain temples have been built since Vastupil's time.

[Bom1)ay Gazetteer,

216

STATES.

Chapter III.
History.

Early Delhi
Governors,
1300-1400.

The plunder was abundant and rich, gold, silver, precious stones,
clothes both silk and cotton, stamped, embroidered, and coloured.^
These praises are borne out by Marco Polo who, about the year
1290, described Cambay as the chief city of a large country and the
centre of a great trade.^

Cambay's four hundred and thirty years under the Musalm^n rulers
of Grujarit include three periods. A hundred years (1300 - 1400)
of active trade, but of much insecurity and disorder; slightly more
than a century and a quarter (1400 - 1530) of great wealth and
importance; and two hundred years (1530-1730) of decline, growing
disorder, and failing wealth.

About 1304, only a few years after Marco Polo's (1290) visit,
Cambay was captured by the troops of the Emperor Ala-ud-din Khilji
(1295 -1315). ' The city was plundered, the temples broken down,'
and the people slain without pity.' * A local governor was chosen
and the city soon recovered. Ibn Batuta, who visited Gujarat on
his wayHo China (1345), found Cambay a very fine city, remark-
able for the elegance and strength of its mosques and houses
built by foreign merchants, the chief part of its population.' In
1346, soon after Ibn Batuta's visit Gujarat rose in rebellion against
Muhammad Tughlik (1325-1351), and, in suppressing the revolt,
Cambay was plundered by the Emperor's troops (1347). In a
second rebellion (1349), the city was sacked by the insurgents and
afterwards besieged by the Emperor.

1 EUiot's History, III. 43, 163.

^ Yule's Marco Polo, II. 332. Polo's contemporary Marino Sanuto calls Cambay
one of the two chief ports of India (Ditto). Muhammad Ufi's story (p. 215) of the Musal-
min and SidhrAj Jaysing shows that, about the beginning of the twelfth century, the
Pirsis were one of the most important classes in Cambay. Captain Robertson (1813),
in his account of Cambay (Bom. Gov. Sel., New Series, XXVI.), supplies some details
of the Cambay PArsis as well as of the improvements in the city introduced by one
Kalidnrii. Captain Robertson gives no dates, and nothing further has been found
regarding the period to which his narrative refers. Some of the Pdrsis, who, since their
arrival in India (636), had remained in the south of Gujarat, were attracted to the
settlement (942-997) in Kumdrika Kshetra at the mouth of theMahi. The first comers
succeeding in'trade, others followed, and in time the Pdrsi element became so strong
that by their overbearing conduct they forced the Hindus to leave the city. Among
those who fled was Kaliinrii a Dasa Lid Vinia. He took refuge in Surat * where, in
a short time, by trading in pearls, he made a large fortune. Bringing a numerous
band of Rajputs and Kolis, he, in the night, attacked the PArsis, put many to the
sword, and set fire to their houses. The rest took to flight, and not a PArsi was to be
seen in Kumdrika Kshetra. KaliinrAi then formed the design of building a city on
the ruins of the PArsi town. By restoring order, building reservoirs, improving the
defences, and favouring trade, KalidnrAi brought many wealthy men to settle at
Cambay. So successful was his management that he received the voluntary homage of
eighty-four villages, the Cambay Chordsi.

* If this is Surat and not Sorath, KaliSnr&i's date can hardly have heen before the
fourteenth centurj-.

^The chief Cambay mosque, the J4ma Mosque, built from the remains of Jain
temples bears the date 1308.

* EUiot's History, III. 43. An account of the booty found in Cambay is given under
the head "Trade".

^ About this time there was in Cambay a MusalmAn of considerable power and note,
named Shaikh Ali Haidiri, who made many predictions for merchants and seafaring
men, and they in return made him many offerings. Lee's Ibn Batuta, 146, 164 ; Yule's
Marco Polo, II. 333,

Gujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

217

At tlie close of the fourteentli century (1391), on his being
appointed to supersede Easti Khan, Cambay sent a deputation to
Nigor in Jodhpur to wait on the new governor Zafar Khan and
seek his favour and protection. On Zafar Khan's death (1411) a
party of nobles, leaguing to oppose Ahmad I. (1411 -1443), took
Cambay. Failing to collect a force sufficient for the defence of
the city they retired on Broach. Here they met with no better
success, and, shortly after, by the submission of its leaders, the
revolt came to an end. Ahmad' s active care for the trade and
naval strength of his kingdom greatly enriched Cambay. At the
close of his reign it was a very noble city, twelve miles round.^

During the next eighty years of strong and successful rule,
especially under Mahmud Begada (1459 - 151 3), who, even more than
Ahmad I., fostered its navy and trade, Cambay reached its greatest
glory. In 1514 its houses were of stone and whitewash, handsome,
and very lofty. The streets and squares were large and the country
rich, fertile, and full of provisions. There were many craftsmen
and mechanics, subtle workers after the fashion of Flanders : weavers
of cotton, plain and dyed, fine and coarse j weavers of silk and velvet ;
makers of delicate articles in ivory ; skilled embroiderers, silver-
smiths, and workers in coral and precious stones. Its people, well
fed and well dressed, led easy lives, spending much of their time in
pleasure and amusement. Drawn in oxen and horse carriages lined
with rich silk and stamped kid skin mattresses, cushions, and pillows,
with bands of musicians playing instruments and singing songs,
festive parties were continually passing through the streets on their
way to the rich gardens and orchards outside of the city walls.^

From the beginning of the sixteenth century the trade of Cambay
suffered at the hands of the Portuguese. Many of its former marts
on the coasts of Africa and Arabia were destroyed and much of the
traffic with the south coast of India and the islands of the Eastern
Archipelago was lost. Later on, with the defeat of its navy
(1528-29), the plunder of its ports (1530-31), and the loss of Diu
(1536), the chief profits of the great commerce of Gujarat passed
from local merchants to strangers. In 1 535 the Emperor Humayun,
in his pursuit of Bahadur, arriving at Cambay too late by only a
few hours, rested for some days. During his stay, his camp was
robbed by a body of Kolis, and in revenge the city was pillaged.
Three years later it was, with little resistance and the loss of only
twenty-two wounded, taken by the Portuguese captain Don Joao da
Castro. Most of the Moors were killed and the city was plundered
and burnt. So great was the booty that the ships could not hold it.
Cambay was then the richest city on the west coast. From supply-
ing cloth to the whole of the east and great part of the west it was
called by the Indians the garment of the world.^

Chapter III.

History.

Ahmedabad Kings,
1400-1575.

» Nioolo de Conti (1420-1444) in Major's India in the XVth Century, II. 5, 20.

2 Stanley's Barbosa, 60. Barbosa's travels probably lasted from about 1501 to 1517.
He visited Cambay only a short time after the death of Mahmud Begada (1513), 57.
Diu was then the port of Cambay and the chief emporium of trade.

'Prim. Rot. des Indes, 116, Vita de Joao Castro, 42-45, and Die. Hist, Expl.
(1848), 20.

B 561—28

[Bombay Gazetteer,

218

STATES.

iJhapter^XlII.
History.

'<rhe Moghals,
J573-1730.

'The Bngliih,
158S.

In the general disorder of the next forty years
wasj from time to time, handed from one to the other of the
almost independent nobles. In the partition of Gujarat, during the
minority of Ahmad II. (1554 - 1561), Cambay, with Patan, Chorasi,
•Dholka, Gogha, and Dhandhuka, were assigned to Syed Mubarak.
Shortly after (1560), on his defeat and death, the Syed's estates
were seized by the regent Itimad Khan. Again, in 1571, in con-
sequence of his victory over Itimad Khan, Cambay fell into the
hands of Ghangez Khan, son of Imad-ul-Mulk Rumi, and was by
him granted to his mother. This gift was the cause of Ghangez
Khan's death. Bijli Khan, an Abyssinian commander, claiming a
previous promise of Cambay, slew Ghangez Khan (1572), and
Cambay again became part of Itimad Khan's possessions.

In 1573, Cambay, then yielding a yearly revenue of £40,000
(Rs. 4,00,000), passed under the Emperor Akbar. Visiting the city,
and amusing himself by sailing on the gulf,^ Akbar brought weavers
and other skilled workmen, and founded two suburbs, calling one
after himself and the other Sikandar or Shakkarpura.^ Though, by
lowering trade and transit dues, Akbar increased the prosperity of the
province, Cambay was, from time to time, unsettled by the move-
ments of insurgent bands, and was thrice attacked and pillaged.
In 1573, Akbar' s cousin and rival, Mirza Muhmmad Husain,'
-advancing suddenly from Khandesh, surprised Bxoach and Cambay.
Ten years later (1583), during the rebellion of Muzafar, the last of
the Ahmedabad kings, Said-ud-daulat, the servant of one Kalianrai
-of Cambay, collected troops, seized Cambay, and held the city for
some time (1583-84).* Again in 1606, Muzafar's son Bahadur,
' proclaiming liberty and laws of good fellowship,' sacked and held
"■Cambay for fourteen days.^

In 1583 the English made their first attempt to open a trade
■with India. Three merchants. Fitch, Leedes, and Newberry, with
letters from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar ' King of Cambay', started
for Gujarat by way of the Persian Gulf. Reaching Ormuz in safety
their efforts to trade were at first successful. But they were soon
seized by the Portuguese, imprisoned, and carried to Goa. Escaping
from Goa, Eitch traded in India for some time, but none of them
carried out the original scheme of visiting Cambay.^

About the same time (1585) the Venetian traveller Caesar ■
Frederic found Cambay a fair city, of such trade as he could not
have believed possible if he had not seen it.'' During one of his

1 Bird's Mir^t-i-Ahmadi, II. 312. In the lin-i-Akbari (1590) (ftladwin, I. 238), the
revenue is returned at about £50,000 {dams 2,01,47,986).

2 Robertson in Bom. Gov. Sel. (New Series), XXVI. 55.

' This was one of the MirzAs whose revolt from 1571 to 1573 caused Akbar so much
trouble.

^ Bird's MirAt-i-Ahmadi, 366.

5 Finch (1608 - 1612) in Kerr's Voyages, VIII. 275, 302.

« Fitch in Hakluyt'a Voyages. II, 375 - 402. Tlianks chiefly to the fame of Mahmud
Begada, European writers in the sixteenth century used Cambay in the sense of India.

' Csesar Frederic was in Cambay twelve years after Akbar's conquest, that is, in
1585. Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 344. No other notice of the famine to which he refen
has been traced, unless it was in 1590, when, at the siege of Junigad, the GujarSt
Iroops were much distressed for want of grain.

Oujar&t.]:

CAMBAY.

219

visitSj th& city was in so great calamity and' scarceness that the
Gentile people brought their sons and daughters, and asked the
Portuguese to buy them, offering them for ten to thirteen shillings
a piece. ^

Except the first few years, Oambay was, during the whole of
the seventeenth century, free from pillage or disturbance. Its
manufactures maintained much of their importance, but the honour
of being the chief Musalman port of Gujarat was gradually passing
to its younger rival Surat. The old trade route through Cambay
and Aimedabad north by mount Abu was, for the time, closed by
the disturbed state of Marwar and Rajputana ; Deccan wars kept the-
Imperial head-quarters in the south of Hindustan, in Khandesh, and,
in the Deccan j and the increase in their size, and the growing
shoalness of the head of the gulf, made the mouth of the Tapti a
safer anchorage for European ships. In 1608 Cambay had still a
topping trade for all sorts of cloth and rich drugs. Often near the
city were as many as two hundred small Portuguese grabs and
frigates.^ The Dutch established themselves in 1617,*and in 1623'
had a large and thriving factory.^ The English, in 1613, gained
leave to start a factory, and in 1616 were strong enough to have the-
Portuguese dismissed from the town.*

Shortly after the beginning of the seventeenth century (1611), the
English traveller Pinch describes Cambay as compassed by a strong
brick' wall, with high and handsome houses forming straight paved
streets, each with a gate at either end. De la Valle, who was in-
Cambay in 1623, though he says little of the trade of the city or
of the wealth of its people, gives the impression of considerable
prosperity. The suburbs, stretching far beyond the town, were-
adomed by reservoirs, especially by one beautifully built with a
flight of marble steps. There was a hospital with rooms, where
men and women suffering from incurable diseases were lodged,*
and wards for aged and infirm animals. Ogilby's account, about
fifty years later (1670), is interesting, though in some details
incorrect. The city, twice as big as Surat, was surrounded by a

CUapter III;

History.

The Moghals,
1573-1730.

Declijie,
1600-1700.

> Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 344.

= Fincli (1608-1612) in Kerr's Voyages, VIII. 308.

' De la VaUe's Letters,. 64-68. According to some accounts the Dutch had a
factory at Cambay as early as 1604, but Stavorinus (III. 107) gives 1617. They
-would seem to have closed their factory before 1670.

« Sir T. Roe in Kerr's Voyages, IX. 315.

^ This is probably correct, as Forbes (Oriental Memoirs, II. 18, 19) speaks of it as a
brick wall. Mandelslo (1638) talks of a handsome wall of cut stone (Travels, 101 - 108),
Ogilby (1670, Atlas, V. 213) of a double stone wall, and Baldasus (about 1680, Churchill,
III. 506) of a triple wall. Thevenot (about 1666, Voyages, V. 36), a more careful
observer, gives some further details. The town walls -were beautifully built of brick
about four yards high and with towers at intervals. The Governor had a castle, large
but not beautiful. The houses were built of sunburnt bricks. Outside of the to-wn
were many fine public gardens and a marble tomb built by a king of Gujarat to the
memory of a governor of Cambay. Mandelslo (1638) and Baldffius (1680) both speak
of Cambay as twice the size of Surat.

" De la VaUe's Letters, 68. This part of the instructions contained in the second
of Asoka's edicts is not at present carried out in any of the animal hospitals in
Gujarat.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

220

Chapter III.

History.

The Moghals,
1573-1730.

Decline,
1600-1700.

The English,
1720-1730.

STATES.

double stone wall with twelve gates. In tlie middle were three
great market places and fifteen pleasant orchards with four
pools supplying water all the year round. The streets were straight
and broad and locked every night by a great pair of gates. The
houses, partly brick partly freestone, were very moist and very cool.
In England they would be accounted mean, yet they were the best
in the country, covered with tiles, and having gutters for the rain
water. Outside of the walls were great suburbs the chief ornament
of the city. Though many ships came from all places, the haven
was of no consequence,. only a bare road. Ships of burden were
forced to lie a good distance from the shore. Small vessels could
anchor at high water close before the city, but at low water they
lay dry. The tides at Cambay were exceeding swift. The
flood rushed so furiously that no horse could outrun it, and rose
to its full height in a quarter of an hour.i About the same time,
Tavernier (1642-1666) states that a bank of silt, about a mile
and-a-half broad, had formed between the town walls and the water,
and that great ships could come no nearer than from nine to twelve
miles.2 Towards the close of the century (1695) the Italian traveller
Gremelli Careri, though he says it had lost much of its splendour and
magnificence, found Cambay a large and rich city.'

Early in the eighteenth century Cambay had further declined. It
was (1720) still a place of good trade, contributing much to the
wealth and grandeur of Surat, the chief centre of commerce. But
it ' was harassed by the Pataners, mostly horsemen and bold fellows
who borrowed round sums from the city by way of compulsion.'*
The Kajputs and KoHs plundered even to the gates, and sometimes
surprised the city itself, for which neglect the governors' heads
answered. In 1716 they were very bold and presumptuous, so
that a stop was put to the trade of Ahmedabad and Cambay.
The Grovemor of Surat ^ raised an army of 20,000 men to chastise
and restrain them. But they laid so many ambuscades that in two
months the army was reduced to less than half, and the rest were
obliged to get home with sorrowful hearts to Surat.®

The English were the only Europeans who kept a factory at
Cambay after the close of the seventeenth century.' The history of
the English at Cambay, in the beginning of the eighteenth century,

* Atlas, V. 213. 2 Tavernier in Harris, II. 353.

' Gemelli Careri in Churchill, IV. 188. According to this traveller the cause of
Cambay's decline was two-fold, the disorders that had overtaken the city since the
Portuguese ceased to govern it, and the silting of the gulf. Gemelli is mistaken ahout
the Portuguese. They never held Cambay.

* These are probably the K^this, called PAtaners, from the city of Dev or Mungi
PAtan (north latitude 20° 55' east longitude 70° 21') on the south-west coast of the
peninsula. Pitan, on the south point of VerAval harbour, had within its walls the
famous temple of SonmAth.

5 This was Haidar Kuli Kh4n who afterwards was (1721-1722) 51st Viceroy. In
1716 when appointed both to Cambay and Surat, he chose Surat for himself, and sent
a deputy to Cambay.

* Hamilton's New Account of Hindustan, 1.145.

' It seems doubtful whether the English had a factory between 1660 and 1700.
See Macpherson's Commerce, 163.

Onjar&t.]

CAMBAY.

221

runs in most respects parallel with the history of their larger
establishment at Surat. At both places there were the same
annoyances and obstructions. Both were subject to the oppression
of Moghal governors, and were harassed on land by lawless
Marathas, and at sea by no less lawless Kolis and Eajputs. In 1 720
Mr. Wyard, the Resident, suffered much from the extortions
of the Muhammadan governor, and in 172-5 the whole city was
threatened with destruction by two rival Maratha armies, under
Pilaji Gaikwar and Kantaji Kadam. At PUaji's approach the country
people flocked in alarm to Cambay. Following them, he demanded
£50,000 (Rs. 5,00,000), and when payment was refused he set
fire to the suburbs. Soon after Kantaji came, claiming sole
power to levy contributions, and offering Pilaji £2000 (Rs. 20,000)
if he would leave. Refusing to leave, Pilaji was attacked and
defeated. Then Kantaji demanded a contribution of £11,000
(Rs. 1,10,000), of which the Bnghsh share was to be £500 (Rs. 5000) .
Mr. Daniel Innes, the Resident, remonstrated, pleading the privileges
of trade and the exemption from all payments conceded to the
English by Shahu Raja. At this ' the armed villains laughed ' . But,
after receiving the first instalment of £50 (Rs. 500), they were forced
to leave and nothing more was pg,id. The followers of Hamid Khan,
the Musalman governor of Ahmedabad, next appeared before Cambay,
levying £3500 (Rs. 35,000) on the town, and demanding £100
(Rs. 1000) from the Resident. ' The first time they went back with a
put-off,' writes Mr. Innes, ' and the next with a flat denial, and I have
not heard from them since, further than that the governor and the
geenvm} fellow here has advised them to desist. They are but two
hundred men, and I am under no manner of apprehension'. The
governor then locked and sealed the English warehouses. This
measure Mr. Innes counteracted by menaces and two cases of spirits,
' more effectual than money in subduing Musalman greed ' . The
seals were removed, and the eccentric Resident, a month later,
replies to the congratulations of his superiors with this counter-hint,
* I shall have regard to your hint of the governor being dry : though
I have quenched his thirst at my own charge too often for my
pocket'.^ After Ahmad Khan's followers left, a new deputy was
appointed on promise of sending £9000 (Rs. 90,000) to Ahmedabad.
This sum had to be wrung from the people of Cambay, and no
sooner did the unhappy merchants and shopkeepers hear of his
approach than they hid themselves, or made their escape to the
neighbouring villages. For six days not a man was seen in Cambay,
though the governor threatened, unless the people came back, to give
over the city to pillage.

The power of the Moghal Viceroys declined so gradually that it
is difficult to say in what year Cambay was established as a distinct
state. Its independence seems to date from about 1 730, when Mirza
Jaflr Najam-ud-daulah was appointed paymaster to the troops,
reporter on Gujarat, and governor of Cambay. This Mirza Jafir was

Chapter III.
History.

The Moghals,
1573-1730.

The English,
1720-1730.

The Nawibs,
1730-1880.

' Geenim, for ghanim robber, used of the Mardtha agent.
= Surat Diaries, 1720-1726, in Bom. Quar. Rev. III. 73-75.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

222

STATES'.

Chapter III.
History.

The Nawdbs,
1730-1830.

Mirza Jdfir

(Momin Khdn I,},

1730- 174s.

a Persian of the Najam-i-Sani family, a descendant of one of the
seven ministera of SMh Ismail Safavi (1500), king of Persia. Coming
to Gujarat a poor man, the Viceroy MuMriz-ul-Mulk (1723-1730), in
1725, with the title of Najam-ud-daulah, placed him in command of
Petlad, about sixteen miles north of Cambay. Soon after he received
in marriage the daughter of Momin Khan Dehlami, minister of
Gujarat and agent for Cambay and Surat.^

In 1730, Chimnaji Appa, the brother of Peshwa Bajirao I.^
demanded from Cambay a contribution of £30,000 (Rs. 3,00,000),
exacted nearly ^0,000 (Rs. 2,00,000) from Petlad, and ruthlessly
plundered Dholka. The trade and city of Cambay were threatened
with ruin. What the Marathas left the Musalmans tried to extract..
Another Maratha visit was (1733) followed by a second Musalman
levy so oppressive that bankers and merchants closed their shops and
left the city. Two years later (1735) the Marathas demanded half
of the customs revenue, threatening, in case of refusal, to lay wast&
the city with fire and sword.*

For two years after his father-in-laVs death (1730), Mirza
Jafir Najam-ud-daulah remained in charge of Petlad. In 1730, in
consequence of some misunderstanding with the Viceroy, he retired
to Delhi. Well received at court he returned in the same year (1730)
to Gujarat with the Maharaja Abhaysing, the new Viceroy. Mirza
Jafir did the Maharaja good service, inducing Mubariz-ul-Mulk the
late Viceroy to retire from Gujarat without a struggle. In reward,,
he was made paymaster of the troops, reporter on Gujarat and
governor of Cambay, and the management d the lands near Cambay
was entrusted to his cousin Pida-ud-din Khan. For a time Mirza
Jdfir held Petlad in farm. But disputing with the Viceroy, he was
forced to give it up. In 1733, in consequence of Mula Muhammad
All's disturbances,^ Mirza Jafir was ordered to take charge of Surat.
But his agent failing to take it, the city remained in the hands of
Tegbakht Khan. At Cambay Mirza Jafir was nearly independent. In

' This Momin Kh^ Dehlami, a descendant of the Dehlamite kings of Persia
(932) is said, like his son-in-law Mirza JAfir, to have owed his advance to the patronage
of MubAriz-ul-Mulk Sarbuland Khdn. Through the influence of that nobleman, he
was, in 1714, appointed from Delhi to be agent for Surat and Cambay, and at the same
time was put in charge of the districts of Baroda, Broach, Dholka, PetUd and NadiM.
Placing deputies in the other districts, Momin Kh4n Dehlami reserved for himself the
charge of Surat. In the following year (1715), in consequence of the changes that
accompanied the appointment of the MahdrAja Ajitsing (48th Viceroy, 1715-1716),.
Momin Kh&n lost his command. Kegaining it in, 1719, for. the three following years
he was in a position of so much power that, in the disorders caused by the Mardtha
inroads, he is said to have aimed at independence. On the removal of Ajitsing (1721),
Momin Khdn again lost his command. But, in 1722, Asaph Jdh Nizdm-ul-Mulk (52nd
Viceroy, 1722) for a third time chose him governor of Surat. In the following year
(1723) Momin Khdn attempted, but without success, to resist Pildji Gdikwdr in an
attack on Surat. In spite of this reverse he was soon after, by the appointment of
Mubdriz-ul-Mulk (53rd Viceroy, 1723-1730), chosen minister, diwdn. About 1725
Momin Khdn gave Mirza Jdfir his daughter in marriage, For two years more Momin
Khdn Dehlami continued to act as minister, and apparently as agent at Cambay and
Surat. He died in 1728 (Robertson, 58, gives 1726), and was buried in Cambay,
where, in 1812, his tombstone was still to be seen.

2 Letters from the Resident at Cambay, 1730-1735.

' Details are given in the Surat Statistical Account. Bombay Gazetteer, II; 110, 111.

Crojarit.]

CAMBAY.

223

1 732, when tlie Viceroy left, he treated Eatansing the deputy Viceroy
with little respect, and in 1 784, when ordered to relieve Baroda, he
withdrew, and left the city to fall into the Gaikwar's hands (1 734) . In
the following year (1 735) the Viceroy suspected Mirza Jafir of secretly
helping Sohrab Khan to gain Viramgam ; and, so strong was the
ill-feeling between them, that Mirza Jafir, afraid of assassination,
withdrew to Oambay. Soon after (1636), engaging a Maratha force
near Cambay, he was defeated and compelled to retire within the
walls, where he remained in spite of Ratansing's orders to help him
against the Marathas. Ratansing, in return, made over Petlad,
Arhar-Matar, and Nadiad to Sher Khan, one of the Babi family.
Mirza Jafir was making ready to resist this transfer, when, with the
title of Najam-ud-daulah Momin Khan Bahadur Piroz Jang, he
was (1737) appointed Viceroy. Opposed by Ratansing and the
Jhaloris, Momin Khan was forced to seek the help of the Marathas.
Summoning Rangoji, he promised that, if they were successful, he
would make over to the Marathas one-half of the Gujarat revenue,
except the receipts from Ahmedabad and Cambay. Very shortly
after (1737) Abhaysing was again chosen Viceroy. At the same
time Momin Khan was told that the appointment of Abhaysing was
nominal, and that the Emperor wished Momin Khan to persevere in
expelling Abhaysing and his adherents. Momin Khan, accordingly,
appointing his son-in-law Najam Khan,i governor of Cambay,
advanced against Ahmedabad, and, with the aid of his Maratha allies,
after a siege of nine months, captured the city.^ During most
of the five following years Momin Khan's head-quarters were in
Ahmedabad, But in 1 741, he visited Cambay, and took what steps
he could tq prevent its decline. In 1743 Momin Khan died.

As a temporary measure, he was succeeded in the government of
Gujarat by Fida-ud-din Khan his reputed brother, and Muftakhir
Khan his son. In the following year (1743-44) Muftakhir was
formally appointed Viceroy. Failing to hold his own against Jawan
Mard Khan and other members of the Babi family, he was forced
to retire to Cambay. Here, along with Fida-ud-din Khan, Najam
K!han, and Rangoji, plans were discussed for an attack on Ahmedabad.
In return for his alliance, Rangoji, on the Gaikwar's behalf, demanded
one-half of the Cambay revenues in addition to those of the rest of
Gujarat granted by Momin Khan in 1737. Muftakhir Khan and his
party at first refused ; but Rangoji, bringing an army close to the
city, made them agree, and advance him a further sum of £8000
(Rs. 80,000) ? These schemes against the Babi coming to nothing.

Chapter III.
History.

The Nawibs,
1730-1880.

Najam Khdn,
Oovernor,
1737-1748.

* This Najam KhAn was Zimal Abedin Najam Khin, a descendant of the
Najam-i-Sslni family. He governed Cambay for about eleven years, and in 1748 was
poisoned by his brother-in-law MuftAkhir Khdn (Momin Khdn II. )

' Maritha help was dearly bought Rangoji in the first instance promised to
aid Momin Khdn on condition of receiving one-half of the revenues of Gujardt,
except the cities of Ahmedabad and Cambay. Afterwards, Eatansing made more
tempting offers, and, to bind Kangoji to his cause, Momin Khdn was forced, in addition to
his original concessions, to make over to the Mardthds the whole district of Viramgdm.

' According to the account given in the Surat Diaries, Rangoji sat down before
Cambay with twenty thousand men, and from this time, although obliged to take less,
the Mardthds 'claimed half the revenue of the city. , On the occasion of the Mardtha

[Bombay Gazetteer,

224

STATES.

Chapter III.
History.

The NawAbs,
1730-1880.

1737-1748.

The CUy,
17S7-1748.

Muftakhir Khan for five years remained in Cambay. Prom time to
time he tried to enforce his right to he Viceroyj but his attempts
failing, he instead determined to gain possession of Cambay. With
this object he procured the death of his brother-in-law Najam Khan,
who, since 1737, had managed the city.

In these troubles the English factory suffered many exactions.
In 1737, Momin Khan, pressed by the Marathas for the price of their
alliance, extracted from Cambay a sum of £15,000 (Rs. 1,50,000).
Attempting on one occasion to wring a contribution from Mr. Hodges,
the English Resident, he was at first bought off by the present of a
fowling piece. He then wanted to buy silk, iron, and sugar to the value
of £3000 or £4000 (Es. 30,000 - 40,000). This too the Resident
managed to evade. But he was not always so successful, and had
from time to time to pay large sums.^ In 1 735, the Company suffered
from a contest between Daniel Innes and Hugh BidweU, who had
been appointed to succeed Innes as Resident. Raising a mob, Innes
tried to force BidweU from the factory. Failing in this, he induced
the Nawab to bring charges of incompetency against him, and, ia
consequence, BidweU was removed and Munro sent in his place.
The change did not benefit Innes, who was forced to retire to Surat.
In 1741 the Nawab forbade the exportation of indigo, and seized
some property belonging to Lambton, the chief of Surat, who had
disregarded his order. This act was declared an infringement of
the English Company's privileges, and some grabs were ordered to
seize Cambay boats. On this the Nawab speedUy came to terms.
The same process of capturing boats was, in 1743, with similar
results, adopted by Sewel the next Resident.^

Though trade was gradually deserting Cambay, the eleven years
(1737-1748) of Najam Khan's management seem to have been fairly
prosperous. The Viceroy was interested in Cambay; and, as noticed
above, in 1741 paid it a special visit with the object of inquiring
into the causes of its decay. During the years (1743-1748) that
followed Momin Khan's death, though the Cambay revenues were
from time to time burdened by Maratha demands, the city was
never attacked, nor its neighbourhood laid waste. The suburbs
founded by Akbar were still inhabited, and the other nine quarters
beyond the walls continued to support skilful and well-to-do crafts-
men. At the same time the revenues had fallen off, and, in spite of
the levy of fresh taxes,^ the total receipts were not more than

advance, tlie Nawab insisted that some of the bastions should be defended by the
English Resident. He succeeded in mustering a native officer and five peons, but
the courage of the little party was not tried. The invaders, unprepared to batter
stone walls, satisfied their revenge by cutting oflF the ears and noses of all Musalmtos
on whom they could lay hands. Surat Diaries, 1743-1746, in Bombay Quarterly
Review, IV. 231.

1 Bom. Quar. Rev. IV. 233. ^ Surat Diaries, 1741-1743.

^ Najam Khdn was the first ruler of Cambay who taxed grain. Every cart-load
was charged 6d. (4 as.) For some time the cultivators succeeded in avoiding the weight
of this cess by iucreasing the cart-load from 1280 lbs. (32 mans) to 2400 pounds
{32-60 mans). When Najam KhAn found this out, he changed the tax to one of
3 pice on every 5 mans. Robertson, 65.

Gujardit.

CAMBAY.

225

£40,000 (Es. 4,00,000). At the close of 1760 (December) the

Jesuit Father Tieffentlialer found Cambay governed partly by a

Maratha Damaji, partly by a Moghal. The Moghal paid the

Emperor no tribute because he could keep from the Marathas

and the savage Kolis hardly enough for himself and his garrison.

The city, though much fallen from its former state, was very

large, girt with bastioned walls more than a Grerman mile round.

Its streets were narrow and dirty, its market place small and

mean, and many of its high but dingy brick and cement houses

were ruined, and others threatening to fall. The only objects of

interest were two mosques, one of cut stone very beautiful; the

Governor's house j and the English factory. To the north joiaed to

the city walls was a fortified suburb about 500 yards round with a

broad gate. This was ruined and almost without an inhabitant. Most

of the people were Hindus ; the rest, except 200 Parsis, were

Musalmans. The English brought various wares from Bombay

and sent away cotton goods. These goods, woven in considerable

quantities inthe villages round, were of a specialmake much in demand

in other countries, even in Europe. The only other industry was

the manufacture of salt. Only small one-masted craft could come to

Cambay, and even they, except in the rains and at very high springs

when they could reach the walls, had to stop half a mile from the

city. Seven years earlier the tide dashed in Tvith such speed

that a horseman at full gallop could hardly outrun it. Now (1750)

the tide set against the east shore of the gulf, but at Cambay

came so slowly and quietly as to give no great shock to vessels afe

anchor.^

On hearing of Najam Khan's death, the Delhi Government
confirmed Muftakhir Khan in the chiefship of Cambay, dignifying
him with the title of Nur-rud-din Muhammad Khan Momin Khan
Bahadur, and with the rank of a noble of 6000. Fida-ud-din Khan,
when he heard of the death of Najam Khan, on pretence of
condoling with the family marched to Cambay, but he was refused
admittance and forced to retire. Succeeding without opposition,
one of Momin Khan II. 's first acts was to poison his half sister
Nur Jahan or Khanum Begam the widow of the late governor.^
In 1752, when news reached Gujarat of the division of the province
between the Peshwa and the Gaikwar, Momin Khan, who was
always quarrelling with the Gaikwar' s agent, begged the Peshwa
to include Cambay in his share. The Peshwa agreed, and, in the
course O'f the year (1752), Momin Khan paid Pandurang Pandit the
Peshwa's deputy £700 (Rs. 7000), together with a present of four
small cannon. In the following year (1753, April) Eaghunathrav,
the Peshwa's brother, advancing within ten miles of Cambay, forced
Momin Khan to raise his yearly payment to £1000 (Rs. 10,000).

Chapter III.
History.

The Nawibs,
1730-1880.

Momin Khdn II.,
1748- 1783.

> Res. Hist.^ et Geog. de I'lnde, I. 381 -383. In Tieffeathaler's opiniou this change
was due' to the rising of the banks at the head of the gulf, to the filling of the bed,
and the removal of a groin of Band that used to stop the mouth and pile up the tidal
waters till they forced their way in and rushed as along a ditch. In nia sketch (458)
the whole top of the gulf is entered as covered at the flood and dry a* the ebb.

- Robertson, 65,

B 561—29

[Bombay Gazetteer,

226

STATES.

Chapter III.
History.

The Nawdba,
1730-1880.

Mardtha Attach,
1753.

Further Efforts,
1755-1757.

Even this was not enough to protect Cambay from Maratha demands.
During the rainy season many parts of the Cambay wall fell down.
Hearing this Shripatray, before the rains were oyer, made ready a
detachment of troops and sent forward a messenger to examine the
state of Cambay. That Momin Khan might not suspect his object,
Shripatrav had a Taluable carriage built. Fitting it with gold and
silver hangings, he gave out that it was meant as a present for
Raghunathrav, the Peshwa's brother, and, to escort it through Gujarat
he left Ahmedabad with a body of horse and a party of five hundred
Mavalis.i After a few days march, at Petlad, about sixteen miles
north-east of Cambay, Shripatrav halted and prepared to attack the
city. Here Vrijlal, Momin Khan's steward, on his way from Bombay,
hearing that Shripatrav was at Petlad, went to pay his respects.
Suspecting Shripatrav's designs, Vrijlal sent his master an
express to be on his guard against surprise. Momin Khan made
every effort to repair the walls. Nor were his preparations thrown
away. On the first favourable evening Shripatrav moved from Petlad.
He counted on being at Cambay by midnight. But the guide lost his
way, and he did not reach the city till shortly before daybreak. On
nearing the town, the besiegers met with a second disappointment.
Where they expected a breach, they found a new and strong fortifi-
cation. One part of the wall seemed undefended, and this the Mavalis
scaled. But again fortune declared for the garrison : troops unseen by
the besiegers were at hand and drove back the assailants. By this
time Momin Khan was on the spot with reinforcements, and a third
attempt was repulsed with heavy loss. Next day the fighting was
renewed, but again ended in favour of the besieged. After a week
of fruitless effort Shripatrav changed his tactics. Letting loose his
men, he plundered and laid waste the Cambay villages. This device
succeeded, and Momia Khan, anxious at any cost to be rid of the
Marathas, agreed to pay £700 (Rs. 7000). The Marathas withdrew,
but such had been their violence and greed that the eleven suburbs
were almost entirely deserted. Momin Khan was brought to the
greatest straits. For the next year the district round Cambay
yielded him almost nothing. All but £6000 (Rs. 60,000) had been
carried off by Shripatrav, and, of what was left, the whole was
given to the Peshwa, half as his ordinary share, and the rest as a
special present on condition that no Maratha should in future collect
the revenue at Cambay. At the same time Momin Khan seeing that
he could not trust the friendship of the Marathas, determined to
increase the strength of his army. With this object he was forced
to resort to many acts of extortion. And though, for the time, his
measures brought him in large sums of money, they did his state
a lasting injury, forcing from it many wealthy and peaceable
subjects.

Soon after this, the Peshwa made a second attempt on Cambay.
Bhagvantrav, his agent, sent without troops, was well received.
But Momia Khan knew why Bhagvantrav had come, and, on getting
hold of a letter from Bhagvantrav to Salim Jamadar at Ahmedabad

• These MAvalis, the people of the -west Deccan, mdval west, Shivdji's favourite
troops were, probably, the most daring of the Maritha tribes, Grant Duff, (Bom. Ed,)B7.

Gujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

227

inviting him to attack Cambay, he surrounded Bhagvantrd,v's
house and made him prisoner. An attempt of the Maratha
garrisons of the neighbouring towns of Jambusar, Viramgam, and
Dhandhnka to force the surrender of Bhagvantrav failed j and it
was finally agreed that Bhagvantrav should be released, and
that the relations between Momin Khan and the Peshwa should
remain unchanged. In the following year (1754) Bhagvantrav made
another attempt on Cambay. After several doubtful engagements
peace was concluded on condition that Momin Khan should pay
£1000 (Rs. 10,000). The chief events of the next two years
(1755-1757) of Momin Khan's rule, the most successful period of
his life, belong to the general history of Gujarat. He collected
tribute from Kathiawar, captured Gogha, recovered Ahmedabad
from the Marathas, -defended Ahmedabad, and was finally forced
to restore it to the Marathas in April 1757. The conditions of
surrender were, on the whole, favourable. He kept Cambay, and
was paid by the Peshwa a sum of £10,000 (Rs. 1,00,000). On the
other hand, he was forced to pay the Marathas a yearly tribute of
£1000 (Rs. 10,000) and to give up all claims on the town of Gogha.
On his return from Ahmedabad, Momin Khan was at first harassed
by his troops for arrears of pay. But on the timely arrival of
his steward Vrijlal, with the Peshwa's contribution of £10,000
(Rs. 1,00,000), the demands of the army were satisfied.

Shortly after this (1757), Momin Khan is said to have instigated the
murder of his steward Vrijlal. He attempted to evade the Peshwa's
tribute, and in hopes that his failure might be overlooked, he made
arrangements for paying a visit to Poona. But Sadashiv Ramchandra,
the Peshwa's deputy, refused to allow him to leave until he had
made good his arrears. Advancing against the city he continued
to besiege it till Momin Khan handed him a sum of £2000
(Rs. 20,000). Shortly after, Momin Khan set out for Surat, and
was there received by Mr. Spencer, the chief of the English factory.
From Surat he sailed for Bombay, where the Governor, Mr. Bourchier,
treated him with m.uch courtesy. After a short stay, he went on to
Poona, reaching the end of his journey in 1759. At Poona he was
received with attention. The Peshwa's cousin, Sadashivrav,
met him at the gate of the fort and conducted him to Balajirav,
who, embracing his visitor, seated him in the place of honour
next his own, and, after a few days, paid him the compliment of a
return visit. Momin Khan, from his| long intercourse with the
Marathas, knew well how to please them, and distributing presents
with a free hand, gaiued great respect. After a two months stay
he returned to Bombay, receiving from the Peshwa the present of
an elephant and other valuable gifts. Whatever were Momin
Khan's views in undertaking this journey, it in no way changed his
relations with the Peshwa. A fresh treaty was drawn up with
conditions the same as those previously in force. During his
stay in Bombay, Momin Khan wrote the Court of Directors a friendly
and respectful letter. The Court sent a very gracious reply, and
their letter was preserved as a record to be spoken of to every
English Resident, or to any Native power with whom Momin Khaa

Chapter III.
History.

The Nawibs,
1730-1880.

Momin Khdn II.

goes to Poona,

1759.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

228

STATES.

Chapter IIL

History.

The Naw&bs,
1730 - 1880.

Musalmdn

Mevival,

1761,

Momin Khdn's
Exactions,
1760-1766.

Kdthis and Kolis,
1766.

had dealings. From Bombay Momin Khan travelled overland to
Surat, reaching Oambay before the close of 1759. After his
return, Momin Khan was at pains to gain as a friend Ganesh Apaji,
the Peshwa's representative, and so successful were his advances
that it was arranged that the Peshwa's agent should be withdrawn
from Cambay, and that all Maratha claims should be satisfied by the
yearly payment of £8400 (E,s. 84,000).

In 1761, the Delhi Court, taking advantage of the confusion that
fell on the Marathas after their defeat at Panipat (1761, January 7th),
directed the chief Musalman nobles to join together in driving them
out of Gujarat. Momin Khan and the Governor of Broach united
their forces and succeeded in regaining Jambusar. With this their
success ended. Damaji Gaikwar advanced to the aid of Sadashiv
Eamchandra, the Peshwa's deputy, and together they defeated
Momin Khan, laying waste his territory. Suing for peace, Momin
Khan was forced to pay the Peshwa half of his revenue, to admit
a Maratha agent into Oambay, and to make good the difference
between £8400 (Es. 84,000), the amount of tribute paid during the
two preceding years, and the half of his revenues.

From 1760 to 1766, though Momin Khan kept on good terms
with the Marathas, his exactions and oppressions half emptied
the city. In 1766, his minister, Aga Eashid Beg, hit on a plan for
obtainingthe Brahmans' hidden treasures. Asked to meet in one place
to read prayers and perform incantations for Momin Khan's health,
Brahmans came, and, at the close of the day, received 6d. (4 as.)
each. This went on for six days. On the seventh the courtyard was
surrounded, the Brahmans seized, and, to force them to discover their
treasures, red hot nails were thrust into their hands. With much
torture a sum of £20,000 (Es. 2,00,000) was gathered in two days.
This cruelty caused lasting injury to Oambay. Many learned
Brahmans and men of position fled for safety to the English in
Surat. Aga Eashid Beg did not long enjoy his master's favour.
Suspected of keeping to himself part of the plunder, he lost his office
and was cast into prison. Afterwards set free, he was, two years
later, in attempting to escape to Surat, stopped by the Nawab, and
murdered.

At this time (1 766) Oambay was so harassed by Kathi and Koli
forays, that Momin Khan agreed to pay them a yearly sum of £400
(Es. 4000), and, provided they did not plunder his villages, allowed
them to pass unchallenged through his lands. After Damaji's death
(1768, August),^ Momin Khan continued on good terms with the
Gaikwar. At the same time he satisfied the Marathas with a smaller
share of his revenues than formerly. From about 1 766 the Peshwa's
share came to be spoken of as one-fourth, choth, instead of one-half.
About this time (1771), for a sum of £7500 (Es. 75,000), Momin
Khan bought from the British the fort of Talaja lately won by them
from a band of Koli pirates. The fort was held by the Nawab for

' DAmAji, a great chemist, had often tried to find the philosopher'B stone, and it
was from breathing the sickly steam of some poisonous drugs that he met his death
in the town of PAtan, Bom. Gov. Sel. XXVI. 77,

Onjar&t.]

CAMBAY.

229

about two years, and was then, under leave from the British
Government, made over to Bhavnagar.^

In 1772, Momin Khan, ashamed of his excesses or afraid of his
talents, caused the death of his son Khan Jahan, a youth of twenty-
two years.* Mirza Teman, his accomplice in the murder of the
prince, was promoted to be deputy governor, and had great influence
in Momin Khan's councils. In spite of the crime which gained
him office, Mirza Teman proved a good governor, and during his
ten years of power the people of Cambay had some respite from the
oppression that marked the rest of Momin Khan's reign. In 1 782
Mirza Teman was thrown into prison, but was afterwards released and
dismissed. Prosperity had now utterly forsaken Cambay. The
country round was badly tilled, the people poor and degraded, the
villages half empty. The grandeur of the city was mingled with
poverty and desolation, the streets were empty, falling mosques
and mouldering palaces were the only remains of its ancient
magnificence. The weavers were few and poor, and, except the
English broker, there was not a merchant of eminence. The
revenues had equally decayed. Once the duty from tamarinds alone
yielded a yearly revenue of £2000 (Bs. 20,000) ; now, when he had
m.et the Maratha claims, there was left to the Nawab not more than
£20,000 (Rs. 2,00,000). From this he kept up a small establish-
ment, maintaining two thousand Sindians and Arab infantry and
five hundred cavalry.*

During the ten years of Mirza Teman's power the Nawab of
Cambay played an important part in Gujarat politics. Damaji,
dying in 1768, left four sons, Sayaji, Govindrav, Manajirav, and
Fatehsing. Sayaji being of weak intellect the second son Govindrav
claimed to succeed, and this claim was, in 1768, recognized by the
Peshwa. This arrangement continued till, in 1772, Patehsing
induced the Peshwa to recognize Sayaji's claim, and to appoint
Patehsing to be Sayaji's deputy. Then followed the intrigues at
Poena that ended in the murder of Narayanrav, and the succession
of his uncle Eaghunathrav or Raghoba. Siding with Govindrav,
the new Peshwa despatched him to Gujarat with orders to remove
Patehsing from Baroda. Momin Khan, who had formerly supported
Patehsing, thus became opposed to the interests of Raghunathrav,
and when, in the next turn of affairs, Eaghunathrav reached
Cambay a suppliant for help, Momin Khan refused to admit him,
and Raghunathrav was forced to move on to Bhavnagar and from
there to Bombay.

Two year later (1774) Eaghunathrav returned to Cambay.
Backed by an English detachment he was anxious to be revenged for
Momin KJian's rudeness. ' Strip him of his city ' was his prayer to

Chapter III.

History.

The NawAbs,
1730 - 1880.

Momin Khan
murders his Son,

Qdihwdr Affairs,
1768.178^.

against Patehsing,
1774.

' This fort lies on the east ooast of Kiihi&wiT, a, little north of Gopnith point. It
is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari (1590), (Gladwin, II. 69), and in Ogilby's Atlas
(1670, V. 208) as one of the KAthidwAr ports. The conditions were that the
Nawdb should hold the fort as one of the Company's servants, that when necessary
he should allow the Company's troops to use it, and, unless allowed by the Company,
should permit no one else to hold it. Aitohison's Treaties (1876), IV. 301, 302.

' Summers 2, and Robertson 83.

' Oriental Memoirs, II. 16, 21, and III. 69, 79.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

230

STATES.

Chapter III.

History.

The Nawdbs,
1730-1880.

English Expedition

against Fatehaing,

1774.

Settlement,
1780.

Kvihi Khanum,

the Bnglisli general. But for this there seemed no sufficient reason,
nor was it wise to remove one of the few remaining obstacles to
Maratha power in Gujarat. It was better to reconcile their allies,
and Sir Charles Mallet, the Eesident, succeeded in inducing
Eaghunathrav to forego his grudge against Momin Khan and
present him with valuable gifts. Shortly after, not more than
thirty miles from Cambay, was fought the battle of Arras, in which,
not without severe loss, Eaghunathrav, by the help of the English,
defeated Patehsing and the Maratha army. Then (1779) came the
change in English politics which led them to abandon Eaghunath's
cause and allow Eatehsing to rule in Gujarat. When English
influence ceased, Momia Khan went back to his alliance with Fatehsing,
and in 1 777 aided Fatehsing in his contest with Govindrav. About
the same time Fatehsing pressed Momin Khan to join him in
stopping the Kathi forays. Momin Khan agreed, and, undertaking to
maintain a line of posts to keep the Kathis from passing east of the
Sabarmati, he received six villages yielding a yearly revenue of
£900 (Es. 9000).! In spite of this agreement Momin Khan tried to
keep up friendly relations with the Kathis. But hearing of his league
with the Marathas, they plundered great part of his lands. Forced
to treat them as enemies, Momra Khan posted fifteen hundred foot
and five hundred horse along the eastern bank of the Sabarmati.
As this garrison cost more than the original allotment, Momin Khan,
in addition to his former grant, received from Fatehsing sums
amounting in all to more than £2000 (Es. 20,000). Of this, £900
(Es. 9000) were fromFatehsing; £1000 (Es. 10,000) from the Peshwa,
and £250 (Es. 2600) from the revenues of the Matar sub-division.

After the British capture of Ahmedabad (1780), Fatehsing, who
received the Peshwa's share in the revenues of Gujarat north of the
Mahi, agreed to remit the Cambay tribute. In return for this
concession, Momin Khan made over to the English the charge of
the Cambay custom-house gate. This gate was restored to the
Nawab in 1 783, and, at the same time, under the treaty of Salbdi
(1 783, February 24th), the right of the Peshwa to share in the
Cambay revenues was renewed.^

Shortly before this (1782), Mirza Teman, the Cambay minister,
was dismissed from office. The Mirza was succeeded by Kutbi
Khanum, a woman of great beauty, who formerly had much influence
over Momin Khan.^ Her heavy extortions were the more keenly
felt after the comparative security of Mirza Teman' s management.
Kutbi's term of power did not last long. Before many months,

1 These villages were Kaajat, Kaneea, Sath, and Bhinbhina in PetMd ; and Jhikar
and GorAr in Mdtar.

2 Grant Duff, II, 288, 324, and Bom. Gov. Sel. XXVI. 79.

3 This Kutbi Khtoum was the grand-danghter of Momin Ehin Dehlami, who died
in 1728, and was also the sister of Budi-ul-jamdl, wife of MomimKhdn II. the mother
of the young Khto Jahin who was murdered in 1772. She was the wife of Aga
Eashid Beg, the minister who devised the scheme for torturing the Cambay
BrS-hmans. While her husband was minister (1760-1766), Kutbi Khinum was on
terms of intimacy with Momin Khdn, to whom she had borne a son, Mirza Jini.
This woman, at the time of her husband's death (1768), retired to Surat. Weary of
her life there she asked leave to return. Her wish was readily granted, and in 1782
she came to Cambay, and succeeded the disgraced minister, Mirza Teman.

Oujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

231

(1 783), after ruling for tldrty-five years, Momin Klian died. In spite
of his valour, military skill, and tact, Momin Khfc's rule was ruinous
to Cambay. His heavy and ill-judged levies forced from the city the
wealth and skilled industry which might, under better management,
have outlived the change in the course of trade and the unchecked
disorder of the rest of the province.^

Four months before his death Momin Khan chose as his successor
Muhammad Kuli, the son of NajamKhan, whom he had poisoned in
1 748. This Najam Khan had been married to Nur Jahan, or KJianum
Begam, an illegitimate daughter of Momin Khan I., and so a half-
sister of Momin Khan II. By her Najam Khan had no issue. But
an intimacy with the wife of one of his door-keepers resulted in the
birth of a son. Hearing of the child, Khanum Begam brought him
from a village some distance off, and, changing his name from Mia
Manu to Muhammad Kuli, saw that he was well cared for.
Besides this connection Muhammad Kuli was son-in-law to Momin
Khan II. by marrying Jogni Khanum, his daughter by a slave girl.
Muhammad's succession was not unopposed. Taking advantage of
the power which Momin Khan II. had allowed to drift into her hands,
Kutbi Khanum, gaining a strong Moghal party, proclaimed Mirza
Jani, the son she had borne to Momin Khan II. Muhammad Kuli
gained the day, and Kutbi Khdnum with her sister Jamila Begam
and a large number of Moghals were driven from Cambay.

After ruling for six uneventful years (1 783 - 1 789) Muhammad
Kuli died in 1789. He had only one dispute with the neighbouring
powers. An offender of the name of Tapidas,^ flying from a Baroda
village, took shelter in Cambay. Asked to give him up, Muhammad
refused and allowed him to escape. Fatehsing advanced to Cambay,
and finding Tapidas fled, forced Muhammad to pay a fine of £1500
(Rs. 15,000). With this exception the sixyearsof Muhammad's rule
was a time of quiet and good government. He left three sons, Fateh
Ali, Bande Ali, and Yawar Ali, the eldest of whom succeeded in 1789.

About the same time, at Baroda, Manajirav succeeded his brother
Fatehsing. One of Manaji's first acts was to demand back the six
villages granted by Fatehsing, to pay for the garrison against the
Kathi inroads. Fateh Ali refused, and it was finally arranged that
the Baroda state should be allowed to withhold the yearly money
payment of £1000 (Es. 10,000) on account of the Kathis,
and that the six villages should continue to belong to Cambay.
Fateh All's next act was to send a large present to Delhi. In
return he received the title of Najam-ud-daulah Momt^z-
ul-mulk Momin Khan Bahadur Dilawar Jang, and the rank
of a commander of six thousand as Nawab of Cambay. In the
early years of Fateh All's rule, Cambay was from time to time
disturbed by Maratha demands. In 1792 the six disputed villages
were again annexed by Baroda, but were a second time restored to

Chapter III.

History.

The Nawibs,
1730-1880.

Muhammad KuU,
1783-1789.

Fateh Ali,
1789.

1 Momin Khto'a exactions made Cambay a heap of ruins. Except the English
factory and the dwellings of the English brokers, there was (1787) no house worth
looking at. The people had failed to pay their taxes and the late Naw4b had ordered
their houses to be pi5led down. Even the large mosque had been confiscated and
made a store house. Hov^'a Tours : Bom, Gov. Sel. XVI, 50.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

232

STATES.

Chapter III.

History.

The NawAbs,
1730-1880.

2%e British,
180S -1.807.

Odihedr Claims,
1806.

British Ascenda/ncy,
1818.

Bande Ali Nawdtb,
18S3-1841.

Tdwair Khdn Nawdh,
1841 -1880.

Cambay. About 1799 Atmaram BMu, the Pesliwa's agent, entered
tlie Cambay district, and was bouglit off only by the payment of
£3000 (Rs. 30,000). Ag^ain, in 1800, Babaji Apaji, general of
Anandrav Gaik:war,in passing to collect the Kathiawar tribute, under
the name of arrears, extorted from Fateh Ali a sum of £5000
(Es. 50,000).

At this time so low had Cambay fallen that the British factory
was (1797, Aug. 21st) 'negative in point of utility and in expense
positively burdensome'.^ The Bombay Board were of opinion that
everything could be done through native brokers. Before this
opinion could be acted on, events took a turn which brought the
British Grovernment into closer relations with Cambay. Malharrav
of Kadi attempted to take Baroda from his cousin Anandrav. The
Bombay Grovernment, appealed to for help by their ally the
Gaikwar, sent a detachment of troops, which under the command of
Major Walker, arrived in Cambay in 1802, Mr. Duncan, Governor
of Bombay, accompanied this force and held interviews with Ravji
Apaji, the Gaikwar's minister. The arrangements then made
(1802, March and June) did not affect the position of the Cambay
state. But by the treaty of Bassein, passed soon after (1802,
December 31st), all the Peshwa's rights in Cambay were ceded to the
British. In the following year (1803, May 24th), at the Nawab's
request the Bombay Government agreed to farm the tribute to the
Nawab for four years, the Nawab engaging to pay yearly a sum
equal to the amount formerly paid to the Peshwa. This arrangement
has since remained in force.^

In the following years, Babaji Apaji, by putting a stop to the
Kathi forays, made the Cambay forts along the east bank of the
Sabarmati no longer necessary. Under these circumstances, in 1806,
Bapu Kashi, commander of the Gaikwar's Mahi Kantha force,
received orders to annex the six villages whose possession had so
often been disputed by the Gaikwar and Cambay. At the same
time Bapu Kashi took bonds from many of the Cambay villages for
the . payment of sums of money. Fateh Ali complained to the
Governor of Bombay, and Major Walker, the British Resident at
Baroda, had the bonds restored under promise that the English
Government would put pressure on Fateh Ali to pay the Gaikwar's
lawful claims.

In 1818, in consequence of the increase of their power in Gujarat,
the British Resident at Cambay was withdrawn, and, in his place,
the chief executive officer in the newly constituted district of
Kaira was appointed Agent.

In October 1823 Fateh Ali Khan died. As he left no male issue
he was succeeded by his brother Bande Ali Khan, who ruled for
eighteen years. Dying (1841, 15th March) without a son, the
succession went to his brother Yawar Ali Khan. This prince
waived his right in favour of his son Husain Yawar Khan the
present ruling Nawab, whose hereditary title is Najam-ud-dauMh

1 East India Papers (1795-1800), IH. 16.

« Bom. Gov. Letter, Political Dept. 55 of 1864, Vol, 23 of 1864 : Aitohison'B
TreRties (1876), IV. 303 -304,

Gujarat.]

GAMBAY.

233

Mumtaz-ul-mulk Momin Khan Bahadur Dilawar Jang. Jafir AH
Khan, the Nawdb's eldest son, at present (1880) twenty-four years
of age, is quiet and well conducted. He is married to a relation of
his mother's, the daughter of the Mulvi of Masulipatam. There is
no male issue.

Since 1818, the relations between the Cambay state and the
Imperial Government have remained unchanged. There are no
treaty engagements, and, except the payment of a yearly tribute, the
Nawab of Cambay is almost uncontrolled in the management of his
state. Over his own people he has the power of life and death. There
is no appeal from any of his awards ; and the Political Agent, the
Collector of Kaira, exercising no direct authority, is little more than
the recognised medium between the Nawab and the Government of
Bombay. Under the proclamation of 1857 the right of any succession
valid according to Muhammadan law, has been secured to the
Nawab, and he is entitled to a salute of eleven guns. The state has
a military force of six field and two other guns, thirty-five artillery-
men, 250 cavalry, and 830 infantry and police.

In 1838, three years before the accession of the present Nawab, in
spite of the long peace, the lands round Cambay were desolate, the
city ruinous, and its trade dead. Since 1838 trade has to some
extent revived. But the improvement is small. No efforts have been
made to foster industry or commerce. The harbour has been left to
itself, and no steps have been taken to clear the silt or make less
dangerous the gulf's troublesome navigation.

The following is the Cambay family tree :

(I. ) Mirza JAfir Najam-ud- :
dauUh, Momin Ehin I.
(died 1743).

Olia Begam, daughter of
Mirza Abdul Huaain
Dehlami Momin 'Khia,
minister, diwdn, of
Gujardt (1723-1728).

(II.) Muftikhir KMn, Nur-ud-
din Muhammad Khto
Momin Khin II. (died 1783).

Chapter III.

History.

The Naw4bs,
1730 - 1880.

Condition,
ISSS-IHSO.

(III.) Mia Manu or Muhammad :
Euli, the illegitimate
son of Ziraal Abedin
Kajam Ehdn, governor
of Cambay (1743-1748)
(died 1789)^

(IV.) Fateh Ali Kh4n Najam-
ud-daul4h Momt4z-ul-
mulk Momin KhAn III.
(died 1823).

(V.) BandeAliKhAn
Momin Khdn IV.
(died 1841).

: Jogni Eh&num,

illegitimate

daughter.

YAwar Ali KhAn.

I
(VI.) Husain Ydwar Khta
Momin Khan V.
(present Chief).

Jifir AliEhin
(Heir-Apparent).

The order of suooession is indicated by Roman numerals.
B 561—30

[Bombay Gkuette«r,

CHAPTER IV.

ADMINISTRATION.

Cihapter IV. The lands of Cambay are tilled either by peasants holding

Administration, direct from the state^ or by the yearly tenants of the village head-

men. The peasant-holding, hhdtahandi, system is in force in the

better class lands capable of regular tillage ; the yearly tenant,

ganotia, system is ordinarily adopted only in the poorer soils.

Under the peasant-holding system land pays the state a fixed sum,
and, though without the Nawab's leave he has no power to transfer
the land, the holder cannot be ousted so long as he pays his rent.
In ordinary cases the right of occupancy has no money value. But
if the former holder has improved the land, the new comer pays
such sums as arbitrators or a committee of villagers may award.
Under the yearly tenant, ganotia, system there is no fixity either
of possession or of rent. This system is commonly in use only in
the poorer lands which, from year to year, the village headman lets
out at low rates to any one willing to take them.

No land is liable to be sold in payment of the holder's private
debts. And, though there is no special exemption in favour of the
cultivator's property, the civil courts are expected to use discretion
in attaching field tools.

Except in the coast, bdra, villages, the land assessment is paid in
money. In the coast villages, after deducting the estimated coat of
production, the crop is divided into two equal parts, one for the
state, the other for the cultivator. A few large landholders sublet
their fields. But, except the poorer soils cultivated by yearly
tenants, the land is generally tilled by the person in whose name
it is held.

As the state has not yet been surveyed, the method of realizing
the land revenue is somewhat rough and irregular. For first-class
land capable of yielding sugarcane, opium, and tobacco, found
almost solely in Undel and Pachisgam, the rates sometimes rise to
nearly £5 the acre (Rs. 35 the Jjigha) . In other villages the assessment
%on the best lands varies from 14s. to £2 16s. the acre (Rs. 5-20
the bigha) ; on rice land from 5s. Qd. to 17s. the acre (Rs. 2-6 the
higha) ; and on dry-crop land from 5s. 6d. to 14s. the acre (Rs. 2-5
the higha) . These rates, though nominally fixed, are changed at the
Nawdb's pleasure. Compared with the corresponding assessment in
the neighbouring British lands these rates are high. On the other
hand remissions are constantly claimed and granted, while the

Gojar&t.]

CAMBAY.

285

record of the area under cultivation is often so imperfect that many
a farmer raises crops on double the area for which he pays. The-
coUection of the revenue is nominally spread over a large part of the
year^ and certain days, in November, December^ February, and April,
are set apart for paying the different instalments. These rent days
are seldom kept, the time for collecting depending on the pleasure
of the manager, or on the needs of the state.

Formerly the land revenue was farmed. Now, except in a few
villages, the state share is collected by village accountants under
the control of a central superintendent, ddroga, with whom are
associated two head-quarter clerks, a Hindu, and a Musalman.
Arrears are strictly collected. A certainjnumber of men are billetted
on the defaulter, and, besides the cost of their keep, he has to pay
a daily money fine of from 3c?. to 2s. (2 as. - Ee. 1). Should
stronger measures seem necessary, the old method of setting the-
debtor in the sun with a block of wood on his head is said to be
still occasionally resorted to. When poverty, or loss by fire is
proved, the revenue superintendent has power to grant special
remissions. In villages whose revenues are farmed, if the people fail
to pay their rents, the revenue superintendent aids the contractor-
in recovering his demands.

The Nawab pays little attention to- the land revenue, and, as a
rule, its management is loose rather than oppressive. In the villages-
assigned to the Nawab's sons there may be occasional oppression,
but in these cases complaints do not reach the Nawab. On the
whole, the land assessment is by no means heavy, and its collection
is not so irksome as to nlake the people move to the neighbouring
Kaira villages.

Except serious cases tried by the Nawab in person all ordinary
criminal charges are heard in the city by the city magistrate, kotwdl^
and in the districts by the rural magistrates, ddrogds. Cases calling
for severe punishment are by them referred to the Nawab, who also
hears criminal appeals. The Munshi, who carries on correspondence
with the Political Agent at Kaira, is the head of the political
department.

There are three civil courts : the original civil court, diwdni addlat ;
the first appellate court, tajvizsani ; and the highest appellate court,
diwdn khdna, where the Nawab, assisted by an assessor, hears
final appeals. In miscellaneous appeals and caste disputes the
head of the merchants' guild, nagar seth, and one or two chief
merchants act as assessors. In cases of Hindu law a hereditary and
paid Shastri is attached.to the court. Most debt cases are decided
by arbitration. When brought into, court the judge is guided by the
following rules. If the suit is filed within six years of the date of the
loan, both principal and interest are awarded ; if the suit is filed after
six and within twelve years, only the principal can be claimed ; if
between twelve and twenty years have passed, only half the principal

Chapter rV.
Administration.

Laud,

Justice.

1 The Nawab's second aon is now (1880) city magistrate..

[Bombay Gazetteer,

236

STATES.

Chapter IV.

Administration.

Justitse.

Police.

can be recovered ; if after twenty years, only one-f ourtli ; and no suit .
may be brought after thirty years from the time the claim began to
run. A fee of 2-^ per cent is taken on all money claims. The failure
of the defendant to pay the amount decreed is commonly punished
by imprisonment.

There is a divorce court presided over by a salaried and hereditary
of&cer styled Kazi who is an assessor in all religious matters. As
head of the registration department the Kazi signs and seals
all bonds affecting immovable property. The proceeds of the
registration fees are equally divided among the Nawab, the
Munshi, and the Kazi. In divorce cases, the Kazi levies fees graduated
according to the social standing of the person claiming relief.
The following statement shows what fees are charged and how
the revenue is distributed. In cases of certified poverty part of the
fees is remitted :

Divorce Feet.

Amount

Revenue how DiaTRrauTED.

CuraAKT.

■§§>

■i

-i

I'l

P'*-'

-ca

S .

£. «. d.

&. s

ff.

«. '

t. d.

*•

euiti.ato«... {^=X^,'^" ::;

8 3

4 18 6

3 10

Garf^enera

S 18 6

2 10

Milkmen

5 8 6

Oil-sellers and blacksmitha ..

4 8 8

Watermen, tailors, and bakers,.

3 8 6

Cotton-oleaners

3 8 6

Fishermen

3 7 6

Barbers, Ehoemakers, anc

Musalmdn Kolis

2 18 6

1 10

Market-gardeners, water-carriers

MusalmSn-Dhedis and Musal

roan-soldiers

2 8 e

Sweepers

1 14 e

Civil and criminal codes have lately been introduced, and the
procedure is supposed to be regulated by their provisions. The
practice is irregular and open to abuse. In the criminal
courts neither summons nor warrants are issued, and persons
apprehended on the merest suspicion, are often kept until bail is
given, evidence found, or release purchased. Civil justice is
little less free from abuse. Complaints of bribery and extortion are
general, and, so little are the court officers controlled, that decrees,
passed by the Nawab himself, are said sometimes to be set aside or
left unexecuted. No appeal lies to the Political Agent. But a
complaint, found by him to be reasonable, can be referred to the
Nawab, and in such cases justice is usually done.

As in other parts of Gujarat, the village headman is called chief,
mukhi. The office is sometimes, though not always, hereditary ; and
the holder is rewarded by the grant of rent-free land. He ha,s no
magisterial powers. The other village officers are the rdvania, a

Gujar&t.}

CAMBAY.

237

Eajput, Koli, or Musalman paid from 4s. to 6s. (Ra. 2 - 3) a month,
who helps in collecting the state demands, guards collections on
their way to the treasury, auddoes the ordinary work of a messenger ;
and the tracker, pagi, a Koli, paid in land and commonly held
responsible for stolen property traced within the limits of his village,
who goes with the headman round the Tillage at night, watches, and
tracks thieves. In large villages there is a Koli or Musalman
messenger and pound-keeper, havdldar, paid in grain and by. twenty
per cent of the pound fees. In some places the villagers keep private
watchmen.

In 1879 the gross state revenue was returned at £38,863
(Rs. 3,88,630). This is derived from four chief sources, land
assessment, salt, land and sea customs, and miscellaneous cesses.
The yearly tribute settled under the treaty of Bassein (1802) is
£2547 10s. (Es. 25,475-5-1). The British Government has also a
share in certain cesses, which in 1878 yielded £105 14s. (Rs. 1057).
During the same year the British share in the salt excise amounted
to £6171 18s. (Rs. 61,719).

The cash received from the different branches of revenue is
lodged in treasuries in the Nawab's palace. The district land
revenue is, under the care of a superintendent, kept in a separate
treasury called the country office, pargana kacheri. From the land
revenue all establishment, food, and clothiag charges are met,
and the balance transferred to the Nawab's private treasury. The
receipts from the coast villages, collections on account of land and
sea customs, and the proceeds of the miscellaneous cesses are
considered the Nawab's private revenue and are at once lodged
under the care of the private treasurer, toshdhhama ddroga}

In former years the Cambay customs and transit duties were a
heavy burden on trade. The duties were (1854), on cotton 4'31
per cent, on carnelians 7'60 percent, on cotton goods 6"05 per cent,
on grain 6*50 per cent, and on tobacco 10"98 per cent. These duties
were greatly enhanced by unauthorized levies extorted from
merchants at every toll-bar, ndJca. In 1854 the attention of the
Bombay Government was drawn to this taxation, which, besides
injuring Cambay, was seriously affecting the traffic through the
neighbouring districts. After much negotiation the Nawab agreed
to fixed and moderate duties. The toll-bars were removed, and,
instead, a single charge was levied. Of the proceeds of this tax,
which varies from one-half to three per cent on the estimated value
of the article, the British Government receives one -fourth, and the
remaining three-fourths are handed over to the Nawab. The terms
of this agreement were revised in 1871, when it was provided that,
to protect the roads, the Nawab should maintain from his share
a fixed establishment of foot and mounted police. The yearly cost
of the police force amounts to nearly £500 (Rs. 5000). Of the
balance two-thirds are now spent on improving the city of Cambay,
and the remaining third on education.

Chapter IV.

Administration.

Police.

Revenue.

Toshdhhdna is literally the present department.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

238

STATES.

Chapter IV.

Administration.

Eevenue.

Tost.

Instruction.

Though Cambay is recognized as a British port, only the
British tariff of valuations, not the tarifE of duty, is in force.
British rates are generally levied on imports, but on exports there is
a uniform charge of five per cent. The custom-house arrangements
are equally in the hands of the Nawab and of the Bombay Govern-
ment. Two sets of books are kept, and the Nawab has power to
object to any decision passed by the British Customs Officer.

The Imperial share of the land and customs revenue is realized
by a superintendent, mahdlkari, a clerk, and five messengers,
maintained, under the Collector of Kaira, at a yearly cost of £144
(Es. 1440), with a guard of a head and six constables of the Kaira
police.

Besides rent the land yields three minor items of revenue, the
hdjri cess, the Jcotra cess, and grazing fees. The bwjri cess is a
tax of 3s. b^d. (Cambay Rs. 2) on every cart-load of millet. The
kotra cess is a tax of one per cent on every holding paying a yearly
rent of £8 13s. (Cambay Rs. 100) and upwards. The object of this
cess is to pay for the keep of the Nawab's horses. The grazing
fee, paid by Rabaris and other cattle owners, is a charge varying
from Is. 9^. to 6s. lid. (Rs. 1-4) the head of cattle. The yearly
collections amount to about £430 (Cambay Rs. 5000).

Of non -agricultural cesses there are two : the craft tax, mohatarfa
vero, and the profession tax, kasah vera. The tax on crafts yields about
£170 8s. (Cambay Rs. 2000) a year. The profession tax is levied at
the following rates : on each oil-press 3s. b^d. to 8s. 7|cZ.(Rs. 2 - 5) ;
on each cotton-carding machine, 3s. b^d. to 8s. 7^d. (Rs. 2 - 5) j on
each shoemaker's shop, 3s. 5^^. (Rs. 2) ; on each grocer's, 5s. 2J(Z.
(Rs. 3); on each blacksmith's, 3s. b^d. to 8s. 7^d. (Rs. 2 - 5) j on each
carpenter's, 3s. b^d. to 8s. 7^d. (Rs. 2 - 5) ; on each tailor's, 5s. 2Jd.
(Rs. 3) ; on each goldsmith's, 5s. 2id. to £1 2s. 6id. (Rs. 3 - 13) ; and
on each potter's wheel, 3s. 5^d. to 5s. 2id. (Rs. 2 -3). In the case
of tanners the tax, I7s. S^d. (Rs. 10) and upwards according to the
size of the village, is levied in one sum from the whole community,
and from weavers of the Dhed caste a charge of 8s. 7|d. (Rs. 5) is
made on each loom. In addition to these special cesses, there are
one or two taxes peculiar to the city of Cambay. The chief of these
is a house-tax, at present fixed at a uniform rate of Is. lei. (10
annas). This tax,- known as the kdthia pal vero, was originally
levied to protect the people from Kathiawar robbers. A special
additional fee is levied on houses in the better streets. There is
also a market cess of 6i per cent on all articles sold.

The post is under the charge of the Inspector of Post Offices,
Gujarat Division. From Cambay a runner passes daily through
Petlad to Anand Railway Station in Kaira.

According to the 1872 census, of 38,134, the total Hindu male
population, 3541 or 9'28 per cent were able to read and write, or
were being taught. Of 33,371, the total Hindu female population,
23 were able to read and write, or were being taught. Of
6095 Musalm^n males, 487 or 7-99 per cent were able to read
and write, or were being taught. Of 5787 Musalm^n females only

Oujar&t.]

CAMBAY.

239

two were able to read and write. Within the last two or three
years education has made much progress. Besides several private
schools, there are now two schools under the charge of the Political
Agent, with an average attendance of some 280 children. These
schools are supported from a grant of one-third of the Nawfib's inland
customs, a yearly subscription of £50 (Es, 500) from the Naw^b, and
the school fees. Seven scholarships, at a cost of £700 (Rs. 7000),
have lately been endowed by Mr. Varjivand^s M^nekchand, a
Cambay merchant. To complete their studies the holders are sent
to the Nadidd High School.

Chapter IV,
Administration.

Instruction.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter V.

Places of Interest.

Caubat.

CHAPTER V.

PLACES OF INTEREST,

Cambay, nortli latitude 22° 21' and east longitude 72° 48', with
a population of 33,709 souls, is tlie seventh city in Gujarat and the
fifteenth in the Bombay Presidency. Keotangular in shape it covers
about four square miles. Portions of its old brick wall remain.
Through the wall, besides two small openings for foot and horse
travellers, there are eight gateways broad enough for carriages.
Beginning from the north and passing east, the chief gates are, on
the north two, the Fateh and Pit ; on the east three, the Mandla,
Chaka, and Gavara ; on the south two, the Purza and Makai ; and
on the west the Chakamali gate. Beyond the city wall, though the
sites of the old suburbs can scarcely be traced, there are some
modern buildings and a few of the older remains in a state of good
repair. Of these the chief are, on the north-east of the city beyond
the Mandla gate, a reservoir also called Mandla, a garden, and
some fine buildings, said to have been raised in 1802 in honour of
Mr. Duncan, Governor of Bombay. On the north-west, beyond the
Pateh gate, is another large reservoir, and a small house, said to
have belonged to Kalianrai, the reputed founder of the present
town. Kalianrai's memory is still preserved by the Vanias of the
city, who, on Dasera day (October), visit the garden and perform
ceremonies in his honour. Near this are other gardens kept in
order by the Nawab, and at a short distance is the Idga or
Musalman place of prayer. Here, twice a year, on the Ramzdn
and Bahri Ids, the Nawab, with a large retruue, comes to worship.
On the south-east, beyond the Furza gate, is the English burying-
ground surrounded by a well built wall. And, on the south, beyond
the Makai gate, are some warehouses and stores.

The chief buildings are the Nawab's palace, his court, and the
dwellings set apart for his household, all in fair order. There is
also the large residence, originally the English Factory, and
afterwards made into a sanitarium for European oflBcers. This
property was, in 1835, sold for £4000 (Rs. 40,000) to Karsetji
Pestanji Modi, a Bombay Parsi.^ At present part of the building
is occupied by the resident British Native officer, and the rest is
used as a public rest-house.

> Briggs' Cities of Gujarishtra, 160.

Onjar&t.]

CAMBAY. 241

Of the older remains, the chief is the Jama Mosque, built about Chapter V.
the beginning of the fourteenth century,^ from the stones of Hindu Places of Interest,
temples. It measures 200 feet by 210, and its inner court ^

120 by 135. Except that it is somewhat smaller, its plan and
arrangements are almost the same as those of the Altamash Mosque
at Ajmir. In other respects the two buildings are most unlike.
The three Cambay arches are plain to baldness, and low to suit the
Jain pillars of the interior. The pillars, all taken from Hindu
temples, though arranged with little care, form a picturesque whole.
One of the mosque's most remarkable features is the tomb of Imrar
bin Ahmad Kajarani the founder. Wholly composed of Hindu
materials, it is two stories high, and was crowned with a dome
twenty-eight feet in diameter. The parts, taken apparently from
different buildings, were so badly fitted, that, after standing some
three centuries, it fell, and has since remained a ruin, singularly
picturesque in form and exquisite in detail.^

Another place of Musalman resort, where persons who have
escaped shipwreck come to pay vows, is known as the Khaja
Kheder Mosque. Near the site of this mosque are the ruins of
an old light-house. Outside of the city walls, near the Narangshar
reservoir, is the tomb of a saint known as the Balasir Pir held in
much veneration by Bohora Musalmans, Of Hindu remains there
is a Jain temple of Parasnath. This is of two parts, one above
ground, the other under ground with the date 1526 (S. 1582).
There are also, in and near the city, nine reservoirs, of which
the chief is called Narangshar. These works are said to have
been built at the charge of a dancing girl, named Nagina, who
chose for each a word beginning with N, the initial letter of her
own name. Many wells near the city are of great age and much
beauty. One object of some interest is the hospital for animals
maintained by the Nawab, out of respect for the wishes of his
Jain subjects.

On the whole Cambay is poor and ill-cared for. Little money
is available to improve the town or repair its buildings ; and, with
dull trade and few industries, its craftsmen and traders have little
to spend on their shops and houses.

' Fergusson gives 1325, Mr. Summers (Bom. Gov. Sel. IV.) 1308.
' Fergusson's Architecture, III. 537.

E 561—31

SURAT STATES

MFi'mNCES

H raluia,aKix and Ma/ictt

A Collec(or's Bun^edow^.^^^

A TmrdljTs-^So.

^^S^ JimJwi^ Statwrt/

^^ Made Hood/ ^_

a Ma Fort

I K IV

1 PapidaJim abine 10.000

2 „ iOmeru J0.000\

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& s.ooo]

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ihu:0ma:Foiinal879.

Scale of Miles

eio E 4 6 a 10 la 14 16

I > I -I -I 1 I I i I I

eajardt.]

SURAT STATES.

B A N S D A'.

Ba'USda (Vansda), a tributary state under the supervision of
the Surat Political Agent, in 20° 44' north latitude and 73° 25'
east longitude, with an estimated area of 240 square miles, had, in
1872, a population of 32,154 souls or 133'9 to the square mile, and,
in 1879, a gross revenue of £13,986 (Ks. 1,39,860).

It is bounded on the north by the Gaikw^r's Anaval sub-division,
and the river Ambika, on the east by the Gaikwar's Viara
sub- division and the Khandesh Dangs, on the south by the
Dharampur state and Kalvan sub-division of Nasik, and on the
west by Dharampur and Chikhli in Surat.

It is a belt of rough tree-covered country, full of small hills and
valleys, lying between the Sarat plain and the Sahyadri mountains.

Eising in the Dang forests, the river Ambika flows through
several Bansda villages. The Kaveri, from its source in
Mankunia hill, flows, by the town of Bansda, towards Chikhli and
Balsar, where, at Vagarach, it joins the Ambika. There are few
wells and ponds. From the large area of brushwood and forest,
much of the water is always charged with vegetable matter and
unwholesome. After a season of scanty rainfall, even bad water is
very scarce. To improve the supply, at a cost of about £30 (Rs. 300)
two wells were sunk in 1877, one at Champaldhara, and the other
at Vandarvek. In 1878, £310 (Es. 3100) were spent on six wells
and two ponds. A dam, hdndhdra, has, at a cost of £118 (Es. 1180),
been built across the river near Bansda.

Though by clearing forests the climate has of late somewhat
improved, it is still, especially from the end of the rainy season to
the middle of the cold weather (October - January), unhealthy.
Fevers and other diseases prevail throughout the year. The
average rainfall for the last three years is estimated at sixty-four
inches. In the hot weather the temperature is much the same as
in Chikhli, the thermometer ranging from 90° to 105°.

Of minerals a black hard stone useful for building is found in
abundance. Of timber trees, there are teak, sag, Tectona grandis ;
blackwood, sisam, Dalbergia sissooj haladvan, Adina cordifolia;
tanachh, Ujainia dalbergioides ; sddado, Terminalia arjuna ; bibo,

B&nsda.

Deacription.

Boundaries.

Aspect.
Rivers.

Climate.

Produots.

' From materials supplied by Rdo BahSdur KeshavUl Nathubhdi, Superintendent
of Bflnsda.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

246

STATES.

Bdnsda. Pterocarpus marsupium ; kalam, Stephegyne panifolia ; catechu.

Products. hher, Acacia catecliu ; mhowa, mahudo, Bassia latifolia ; jdmbudo,

Eugenia jambolana ; hasan, Briedelia montana ; timru, Diospyros
montana ; hanti, Acacia kerek ; vdjari ; and kangdoli. Of these
haladvan and^ sddado are of special, and the rest of middling,
value. Though Bansda lies close to the Dangs its timber is not nearly
so valuable. Till the time of Raja Gulabsingji (1862 - 1876), when
some lands were reserved in five or six villages, the forests were
farmed out and freely used by the cultivators. In 1877-78 to prevent
the destruction of valuable timber, teak, blackwood, catechu,
tanachh, haladvan, sddado, bibo, siven, hanti, vdjari, and mahuda
were set apart as state trees and can be cut by cultivators only
on showing passes, and for housebuilding or field purposes. To
cut dhdman, kalam, kangdoli, saras, timri, dhamodi, bedo, sdmar,
bod/ra, kirai, and other firewood trees, no pass is required. In
1877, 247 passes were issued, and about £200 (Rs. 2000) worth
of timber and bamboos were cut. Of late, the forest establishment
has been increased, and all forest lands suited to the growth of
valuable timber have been marked off and are strictly preserved.

Animals. Except that, from scanty pasturage, the cattle are smaller and

poorer, the domestic animals do not differ from those found in
central Gujarat. The chief wild animals are the Tiger, vdgh, Pelis
tigris ; the Leopard, dvpdo, Felis leopardus ; the Bear, rinchh, Ursus
labiatus ; the Hunting Leopard, chitdh, Felis jubata ; the Hog,
dukhar, Sns indicus ; the Fox, lonkdi, Vulpes bengalensis ; the
Antelope, kalidr, Antelope bezoartica ; the Pour-horned Antelope,
bhekar, Tetraceros quadricornis ; the Deer, cMtal, Axis maculatus.

Population. According to the 1872 census the population numbered 32,154

souls, of whom 31,313 or 97"3 were Hindus, 620 or 1'9 per cent
Musalmans, 210 or "065 per cent Parsis, and 11 'Others'.
The percentage of males on the total population was 52 '1 and of
females 47-9. Of the 31,313 Hindus all but 1436 (males 771,
females 665) belong to the kdliparaj or black races. Almost all of
them are very poor living from hand to mouth, and spending their
earnings on spirits. The four chief tribes are Konkna Kanbis,
Chodhras, Dhondias, and Gamtas. Of these the Konknas with
thirteen clans^ are the largest. Living in the hilly villages in the
south and east and speaking a corrupt Gujarati, though thriftless
cultivators they are very faithful and honest. They are firm
believers in ghosts and witchcraft. When any one is attacked with
fever or other disease, a holy man, bhagat, is called in and is given
palm juice, tddi, and other spirituous drinks. He then makes an
offering to the fire, and shaking his head like one possessed,
utters some woman's name as the cause of the sick man's distress.
The woman is supposed to be a witch and is ill-treated by the
sick man's friends sometimes so severely as to cause her death. The
Parsis, liquor-sellers and revenue contractors, enrich themselves

' They are : Bhagaria, G^ekwAr, MihAla, Gdmit, Sarkar, Bhoia, Chodhri, J4dav,
G4en, MohAkAl, BerAri, Kamdi, and Bedra.

Sujarit]

SURAT.

247

at the expense of the dark races. Of 87 inhabited villages i, 6 had Bdnsda.

a population of less than 100 souls ; 20 from 100 to 200 ; 43 from Agriculture
300 to 500; 9 from 500 to 760; 5 from 750 to 1000 ; 3 from 1000 to
1500 ; and one from 2000 to 3000. The number of houses was 4050
or eight persons to each house.^

There are some tracts of black landj but over the greater part of
the state the soil is light. Eich in the more level tracts to the north
and west, it is, among the hills and valleys stony and poor. A few
river bank villages water their lands by Persian wheels. Of the
whole area only one-sixth is tilled. Of the rest about one-third
is arable waste and two-thirds are unfit for tillage. Among the
early, kharif, crops are, rice* ddngar Orjza. sativa, guvdr Cyamopsis
psoralioides, tal Sesamum indicum, ndgli (white and red) Eleusine
coracana, kodra Paspalum scrobiculatum, Indian millet juvdr
Sorghum vulgare, banti Panicum spicatum, maize makdi Zea mays,
vdl Dolichos lablab, adad Phaseolus mungo, and mag Phaseolus
radiatus. The late, rabi, crops are castor-oil seed diveli Ricinus
communis, gram chana Cicer arietinum, peas vatdym Pisum sativum,
and ldm,g Lathyrus sativus. Other crops are sugarcane serdi
Saccharum officinarum, kulthi Dolichos uniflorus, kharsdni and
bhagar or vardhi. Of these, rice, adad, vatdna, and red and white
ndgli are grown in large quantities! Some of the soil is well suited
for sugarcane, raising it with one-fourth less water than elsewhere.
The best rice bengdliu is grown at the base of the hills in the beds
of small streams. It is planted after three-fourths of the usual
rainfall is over, and is nourished by moisture th'at oozes up from
underground.

Under the revenue contract, yara, system, which since 1876 is Husbandmen,
being rapidly replaced by direct settlements with the land-holders,
the condition of the cultivating class was far from good. So long
as the farmer paid the promised amount, the state did not
ask how the rents were gathered, or what was left for the
husbandman. The contractors, chiefly Parsis, the actual landlords,
had all power in their hands. As revenue and police authorities
tliey could do as they pleased. Only when driven by some
special oppression did the people appeal to the chief. Besides
rents the contractors levied many petty but harassing dues,
haks, so that in many cases the cultivator was forced to hand over all
his produce, trusting to the contractor's forbearance and self-interest

' One village BibibAri on the borders of the Dangs is waste. Its ownership is in
dispute between BAnsda and the Dings.

* This very large average household is said to be due to the habits of the aboriginal
families who either sleep in the open air or huddle together much more closely than
bigher class Hindus.

There are twenty-two varieties of rice, bengdliu, suhhvel, eldkhi, gosAliu, sdliu,
Icada, toma, tulsiu, ddbhel, hebhad, khadsi, nadagiu, ddngi, pan, kalvi, kamiodi,
bengdliu (inferior aoT:t) , jiriu, mdrvel, rdmsal, dmbdmohar, and Icauchi.

* The estimated cost and profit of tilling an acre of rice-land of the better sort is :
ploughing 6«. (Rs. 3), seed 8s. (Rs. 4), sowing 4s. (Rs, 2), weeding 2s. 6d. (Re. IJ),
cutting 2s. (Re. !), rent 14s. (Rs 7) ; total £1 16s. 6rf. (Rs. 18 as. 4). Tbe outturn is
estimated at 12J owts. (35 mans) worth £3 ISs. 9rf. or a net profit of £2 2s. Zd.
(Rs. 21 as. 2).

[Bombay Gazetteer.

248

Sdnsda.

Husbandmen.

Monej.

Roads.

STATES.

to give back a part for his support. As they were liquor-sellers as
well as revenue contractors^ most of the crops, even of the better
class of cultivators, found their way into the Parsi middleman's
hands. And even for the well-to-do, the want of local markets and
the badness of roads prevented the profitable sale of their field
produce. Besides their money and grain payments, they had,
village by village, to perform forced and unpaid state labour, veth.
Gangs, occasionally from long distances had to come into Bansda
and work for the chief, returning without any payment either in
money or grain. They were also in constant fear that the rates
should be raised or their land taken over by the contractor. Daring
the last year of his lease, it was usual for the contractor to do his
best to enrich himself, taking the tenants' corn and even their cattle.
Left often from February till harvest with a too scanty store of
even the cheapest grain, the cultivators had to work as labourers
and borrow grain from the contractors and Vanias.

In 1876, when the state came under British management, forced
unpaid labour was stopped. As the village leases fall in, the
lands are measured, a small fixed money rent is imposed, and a.
settlement made direct with the cultivator. Though the change was
fiercely opposed by the contractors, and was not popular even with
the land-holders, the condition of the people has, under the new
system, steadily improved. Some families have already, to a great
extent, freed themselves from their bondage to the middleman,
and silver ornaments are worn where they were before unknown.
Of only two years of scarcity, 1835 and 1877, do local records
remain. In 1835 the crops failed from want of rain, and, in 1877,
with 29 instead of about 60 inches, the rice crop was ruined, and
remissions, amounting in all to about £427 (Rs. 4270), had to be
granted.

The money-lenders, Marvadis, Brahmans, and Parsis, supply the
cultivators with grain, taking back at harvest time double the
quantity of grain given for seed, and one and a half times the
quantity given for food. Neither land, cattle, nor field tools can be
sold to pay private debts. When money is borrowed, the rates of
interest vary, according to the debtor's character and position, from
nine to eighteen per cent. Almost all transactions, revenue receipts,
and state payments, are made in Broach currency. The only
exception is, that to supply money for expenditure out of Bansda, the
revenue contractors have to make one-fourth of their total payments
in British currency. The exaction of forced unpaid labour by the
state and the revenue contractors has, as noticed above, been
stopped. The only skilled labourers in Bansda are carpenters, who
are paid Qd. (6 annas) a day. Labourers, if paid in cash, get nearly
2d. (1 anna 4 -pies) a day, and if in grain, four pounds, sers, of rice, or
five, of Icodra. Cartmen are either paid by the day, or at the rate of
2s. (Re. 1) for every twelve miles.

The country is approached by land only, having neither ports nor
navigable rivers. There are two cleared roads, one of eighteen, and
the other of two, miles. The two mile road between Bansda and
the Dangs was opened in 1876. A third road, of about seven

Gujardt.]

SURAT.

249

Land Trads.

mileSj is being opened between Bansda and Unai. A bridge on Bdnsda.

the road between Bansda and Hanm^nbari at the cost of £81 Roads.

(Rs. 810)j a weir across the Bansda river, and two rest-houses were
built in 1877-78. Until the state came under British management,
there was no regular post. Now a self-supporting branch post
office has been established at Bansda, and an office built at a cost
of £50 (Rs. 500) . One of the lines of communication between
Khandesh and the coast passes through Bansda. Formerly pack-
bullocks brought from the inland districts large quantities of
grain and other merchandise taking back chiefly salt. The opening
of the Great Indian Peninsula and the Bombay and Baroda railways,
to a great extent, put an end to this through traffic. But since a
road for wheeled vehicles has been made, hundreds of timber carts
pass every year to and from the Dang forests. The manufactures
are limited to cotton tape, baskets, and coarse woollen cloth.

During the dry season, at Bansda, Anklach, Khambhla, Limjar, Fairs.

Moti Valjar, and Champaldhara weekly markets, hajdrs, are held,
where traders from Ohikhli, Gandevi, and other neighbouring places
open booths. Dealings are carried on with the upper classes by cash
payments, and, with the dark races, chiefly by barter. At a large
fair held every year at Undi on the 15th Ghaitra (March - April),
about 1000 traders attend, offering Nasik and other Deccan copper
and brass vessels, and Ahmedabad waist- cloths, dhotars, worth
altogether from £2000 to £2600 (Rs. 20,000 - 25,000). These
articles are bought by higher class Hindus who pay in cash. The
Dhondias and other dark tribes, in exchange for corn, take coarse
cloth and brass ornaments. The average sales vary in value from
£1000 to £1500 (Rs. 10,000 - 15,000).

The Bansda chiefs are Solanki Rajputs. Of their early history no History,

details have been obtained. They claim to have ruled at Bansda for
twenty generations. But the first eight names are doubtful,
and no details are available before the opening of the eighteenth
century.^ The ruins of a fortified enclosure near Bansda, and the
remains of several temples and water works, point to former
prosperity. It seems probable that their lands once stretched
to the sea coast, and were gradually narrowed by the advance of
Musalman power. Virsingji, the first chief of whom details
are available, after ruling during the first fifteen years of the
eighteenth century, was succeeded by his son Raybhanji who, dying in
1 739, left by different wives two sons, Gulabsingji and Joravarsingji.
Each claiming the succession for her son, the ladies referred the
matter to Damaji Gaikwar, who decided that the state should be
divided into two equal shares, and one with Bansda made' over to
Gulabsing, and the other with Bisanpur given to Joravarsing.^

' The first eight names are Muldevji, Khadhaldevji,, BAldevji, Karandevji, Ude-
singji I., Mol Karauji, and Udesiugji II.

2 Biaanpur now belongs to the Qiikw&r. Half of it was, in 1750, made over by the
BAnsda chief to the Peshwa, who, in the following year, ceded it to DAmdji GdikwAr.
The Peshwa took it back in 1760, and restored it in 1762. In 1763 the G4ikwdr took
the whole sub-diyision, and, in spite of the chief's protest and the Peshwa'a order has
since held it.

E 551—32

[Bombay Gazetteer,

250

STATES.

Binsda.

History.

British
Management,
1876-1879.

On GuMbsing's deatli in 1753, the minister raised a distant
cousin to the chiefship. His claim was contested by Joravarsing,
the late chiefs half-brother. In the end, by the arbitration of the
Peshwa and Nazim-ud-din Bakshi of Surat, Udesing the cousin
was confirmed, and Joravar presented with five villages. On
Udesing's death about 1770, the succession, disputed by Kiratsing
and Parbatsing, was, by the Peshwa's minister, decided in favour
of Kiratsing. Ten years later on Kiratsing's death the rival claims
of two brothers Virsingji and Naharsingji were decided in
Virsingji's favour, who raised £5000 (E.s, 50,000) from the chief
of Mandvi, and spent it on the Peshwa and his court. On
Virsingji's death, in 1789, his brother Naharsiogji claimed the
succession. He was strongly opposed by Dayaram, the late
chief's minister, who stated that Naharsingji had already passed a
deed of relinquishment, and that Virsingji's widow was pregnant.
The Peshwa's minister decided that Naharsing should refrain from
pressing his claim till the chief's widow was delivered of a child.
Disregarding this decision, Naharsing took Bansda by force, and
on paying a fee, nazardna, of £8500 (Rs. 85,000) was, about 1790,
confirmed in the chiefship. From that time, besides succession fees,
of a revenue of £3600 (Rs. 36,000), the Peshwa received £760
(Rs. 7500) as tribute and £150 (Rs. 1500) as transit dues. Dying
in 1793, Naharsing was succeeded by his son Raising, during whose
reign, under the terms of the treaty of Bassein (1802, December
31st), the rights and position of the Peshwa as the over-lord of
Bansda were transferred to the British. Raising was, in 1815,
succeeded by his remote cousin Udesingji, who ruled till 1829. On
his death Hamirsingji a child of eighteen months was, with the
approval of the Bombay Government, adopted by the four widows
of Udesing and of his predecessor Raising. At first the state was
left in charge of the Ranis, but in 1832, in consequence of their
misconduct, affairs were administered by an ofiicer under the
supervision of thdIAgent to the Governor at Surat. Few changes
were made in the system of management. The resources of the
state were most carefully husbanded, and, in 1852, when the minority
of the chief ceased, besides £3145 10s. (Rs. 31,455) in cash, the
state had a credit balance of £13,000 (Rs. 1,30,000) invested
in Government notes. In 1856, in consideration of the British
Government foregoing its share of transit duties, the chief agreed
to pay a yearly tribute, choth, of £150 (Rs. 1500) and to limit
his customs demands to certain rates approved by Government.
Dying in 1862, Hamirsingji was succeeded by Gulabsing, who
on his death in 1876, left one son Pratapsing, the present chief,
then a boy of twelve years. The young chief is being taught at the
Rajkumar College in Kathiawar, while his state is managed by a
Superintendent appointed by the British Government.

Tinder British management (February 1876 to November 1879)
the revenue has risen from £10,384 (Rs. 1,03,84) to £13,986
(Rs. 1,39,860), the chief item of increase being £2508 (Rs. 25,080)
under land revenue. The forests, formerly farmed for about £400
(Es, 4000), have, since 1877, been brought under state manage-

&njar&t.]

SURAT.

261

ment. A road has been opened twenty miles to Chikhli, schools
have increased from one with thirty pupils to six with 212, and a
dispensary has been established at a yearly cost of about £170
(Rs. 1700).

The Bansda chief pays a yearly tribute of £735 (Rs. 7350), and
maintains an armed force of 153 men. He has power to try his own
subjects for any ofEence. The family follows the rule of primogeni-
ture, and has been vested with the right of adoption. The chief is
entitled to a salute of nine guns.

The following is the Bansda family tree r

(VIII.) TTdesingji II.»

(IX.) Virsingji I. (died ip 1716)'.

I
(X.) EAybhtoji (died in 1739).

(XI.) Gnlibsingji (died in 1753).

(XII.) Udesingii III. (died about 1770),.

a consin of Gnldbsiugji.
(XIII.) Kiratsingji (died in 1780).

JorAvarsingji.

(XIV.) Virsingji II. (difidinl789).

(XV.) NAhtoingji (died in 1793).

(XVI.) EAising (died in 1815).
(XVII.) Udesing IV. (died in 1829), a dis-
tafat cousin of R&isingji,
adopted
(XVIII.) Hamirsingji (died in 1862).

GuMbsingji (died in 1876), a
cousin of Hamirsingji.

(XIX.)

(XX.) Prat^singi'i (the present Chief)-

' The Games of Uaesingji's seven piedecessors are given at p. 249.

As only a small part of the state has been surveyed, the whole
area is not accarately known. It may be roughly estimated at
about 240 square miles. Of the eighty-eight villages, eighty-one
belong to the state, and seven are alienated. The land revenue
system, in no way altered when the state was formerly (1833-
1852) under British management, was to lease groups of villages
to contractors, ijdrddrs, for terms of five years. This system had
the advantage of ensuring the state a regular revenue collected
with little trouble or detail. But under it, when, in 1876, Bansda
again came under British management, so wretched was the state of
the people that it was determined, as the leases^ fell in, to
replace them by a settlement direct with the cultivators. Accordingly

Bdnsda.

History.

Land.

' Of the leases running in 1876, one for one village lapsed in 1876 ; a second for
18 villages in 1877 ; a third for two villages in 1878 ; and a fourth for 27 villages in
1879. A fifth for 31 villages lapses in 1880. The land belonging to the town of
Btosda is divided into four farms, two lapsing in 1877 and two in 1882. The deserted
village of BibAbiri on the borders of the Ddngs is not farmed.

[Bom1)ay Gazetteer,

252

STATES.

BAnsda. in 1875, when the lease of the village Vaghai lapsed, the lands were

l]^a. surveyed, a headman appointed, the holdings of each cultivator

measured, and his rent fixed. The contractors, feeling that one chief
source of gain was passing from them, strongly opposed the new
system, and so thoroughly succeeded in alarming the people, that the
rates could be inrtoduced for one year only. From the character
and condition of the people, the unhealthiness of the climate, and
the distance from markets, the rates had to be pitched very low, rice
lands paying only 6s. an acre and dry crop lands from 4s. to 2s.
Since 1876, when the state came under British management, thirty-
nine villages, twelve in 1876-77, eight in 1877-78, and nineteen in
1878-79, have been surveyed and new rates fixed. For rice lands
the first class acre rates range from 6s. to £1 (Rs. 3 - 10), and the
second from 5s. to lis. (Rs. 2| - 5^). For dry crops the first class
rates range from 2|s. to 8s; (Rs.l|-4), and the second class from 3d.
to 6s. {annas 2 - Rs. 3).

In each of these villages were some substantial holders, paying
rents varying from £2 10s. to £25 (Rs. 25 - 250), and taking
their crops for sale to Bilimora, Ohikhli, Gandevi, and other markets.
The financial result of the new system has been from the first group
of twelve villages, including Yaghai, a rise in revenue from £877
(Rs. 8770) to £1252 (Rs. 12,520); in the second group, from
£1007 (Rs. 10,070) to £1389 (Rs. 13,890) ; and for the third group
from £3584 (Rs. 35,840) to £5263 (Rs. 52,680). Along with the
measurement and assessment of the lands, a village establishment
has been introduced. The staff paid by allotments of land includes
accountants and messengers, and headmen chosen where possible
from the dark, kdliparaj, races. When the state came under
British management, fourteen villages were, during the lifetime of
the present grantees, held on quit-rents as service, yagi Mr, charitable,
dharmdda, and subsistence, jivdi, grants. Besides these large
grants, lands have in many villages been made over in charity to
Brahmans, and, in reward for services, to revenue officers, the
chief's mercenaries, sihandi, and the Dheds.

Justice. Formerly civil disputes might be brought before the chief, who

with the help of his manager, gave judgment. But so high a fee,
twenty per cent of the award, was levied that civil suits were
generally settled by arbitration. Since 1876, the fee has been
reduced to ten per cent, and, in 1878, the number of suits had
risen to thirty-eight. In 1878 forty-eight boundary disputes were
settled, and seventeen remained for decision. The people are quiet
and orderly, seldom guilty of crime. Formerly clerks, hdrkuns, heard
criminal complaints, and disposed of them keeping a memorandum
of their decisions. Since 1876, the system in force- in the neigh-
bouring British districts, has been introduced, the Superintendent
being invested with first class, the mdmlatdd/r with second class,
and his first clerk with third class, magisterial powers. In 1878,
of 144 cases sixteen were disposed of by the first class magistrate,
fifty-nine by the second, and sixty-nine by the third. Besides these
there were three appeal cases, and two committed to the Agent's
court.

Gujard,t.]

SURAT.

253

About a century ago (1 790), the revenue of the state was returned Bdnsda.

at £3600 (Rs. 36,000), of which £3000 (Rs. 30,000) were recovered Rev^e.

from the land and other sources, and £600 (Rs. 6000) from transit
dues. In 1852 the revenue stood at £6203 (Rs. 62,030), and from
that it steadily rose to £7250 (Rs. 72,500) in 1862, and
£11,550 (Rs. 1,15,500) in 1872. Since the introduction of
British management, chiefly by the change from the contract to
the revenue survey system, the revenue has (1879) risen to £13,986
(Rs. 1,39,860). .

In 1875-76, when the state came under British management, Instruction,
there was only one vernacular school in the town of Bansda. In
1878 there were five boys' schools with an attendance of 212 pupils,
of whom 185 were of the upper, ujli, and sixty-three of the
lower, kali, classes. In 1879 a girls' school was started with an
attendance of thirty pupils. Four of the six schools are provided
with buildings.

In 1877 a dispensary was opened in Bansda. In the first year it Health,

was attended by 2557, in the second by 3304, and in the third by
4550, patients. The chief diseases were fevers, bowel complaints
and skin affections. In 1878-79, 866 children were vaccinated
against 1082 in the year before.

Ba'usda, the chief town in the state, had, in 1872, a population Places of Interest,
of 2321 souls. It has a dispensary, a school, and a post office.

Una'i, a small village on the north border of the state, with a
hot spring, has, on the 15th Chaitra (March - April), a large fair
attended by some six or seven thousand people. Twenty-five per
cent belong to the Anavla Brahmans, who according to mythology,
were, at the Unai spring, consecrated as Brahmans by the god
Ram. About fifty years ago some religious mendicants set up a
female figure and called it the goddess Unai. The fair lasts for sis
days, but the 15th., punam, is the chief holiday .i

1 A fuller account is given in the Surat Statistical Account. Bom. Gaz. II. 333.

[Bombay Gazetteer^

Dharampnr.

Bescription.

Boundaries.

Aspect,

Water.

Climate.

Products.

DHARAMPUR.

Dharampur, a small state under tlie supervision of the Political
Agent of Surat, in 20° 31' nortli latitude and 73° 15' east longitude,
lies to the east of the Balsar and Pardi sub-divisions of Surat. It
has an estimated area of about 800 square miles, a population,
in 1872, of 74,592 souls or 94-13 to the square mile, and, in 1878, a
revenue of £25,000 (Es. 2,50,000).

It is bounded on the north by the Chikhli sub-division of the
Surat district and the state of Bansda ; on the east by the Peint and
Surgana states ; on the south by Peint, Daman, and Thana ; and on
the west by the Balsar and Pardi sub-divisions of Surat.

The west of the state is flat, rising gradually towards the eastern
hills which separate it from Surgana and Peint. The east of the
country is hilly, rather bare of trees, and not suited for tillage.

The state is well supplied with rivers. The Damanganga, the
Kolak, the Par, the Vanki, the Auranga, and the Ambika, all flow
through it on their way to the gulf of Cambay. Though of no great
size these rivers have pools of water all the year round. Its hills,
the number of its water-courses, and its height above the sea, ensure
a rapid and complete drainage. There are few lakes or reservoirs
of any size, but at all seasons the beds of the rivers and brooks
afford a sufficient supply of water. In the north and west are a few
wells, but in other parts the wild races are content with water
drawn from river-bed holes.

Except in the west the water is bad, the climate unhealthy, and,
in the hot season, the heat is severe. The prevailing diseases are
fever, cough, dropsy, diarrhoea, and asthma. No accurate estimate
of rainfall can be given, but it may be pat down as something over
seventy inches. No thermometer readings are available, but the
mean temperature is probably somewhat lower than in Balsar.

Besides a sprinkling of jack, phanas, Artocarpus integrifolia, and
jdmhudi, Eugenia jambolana, there are large numbers of mango,
dmba, Mangifera indica, tamarind, dmli, Tamarindus indica, and
pipal, Ficus religiosa. There is some sparse teak copse wood
towards the east, and, towards Peint and Thana, a forest of bamboos,
teak, wiahuda, Bassia latifolia, blackwood, tanach, Oogeinia dalber-
gioides, catechu, haladvan, Adina cordifolia, and sddado, Terminalia
arjuna, is being preserved and gradually becoming valuable. Tigers,
vdgh, Felis tigris, are now and then found in the eastern hills, and
Panthers, dipda, Felis leopardus, wander all over the state. There
is hardly any small game.

OiUardt.]

SURAT.

255

According to the 1872 census, the population numbered 74,592 Dharampur.
souls. Of these 73,428 or 98-5 per cent wereHindus, 910or]'2percent Population.
Musalmans, and 254 or '3 per cent Persia. Of the 910 Musalmans
868 were Sunnis and 42 Shias j and of the 254 Parsis 239 were
Shahanshais and 15 Kadmis. Of the Hindus about 50,000 or 67-03
per cent belonged to the early or dark races, kdliparaj.^ Arranged
according to occupation, persons employed by the state numbered
760 or I'Ol per cent of the entire population; professional persons
72 or '09 per cent; personal servants 1181 or 1'5 percent; hus-
bandmen 54,119 or 72'5 per cent; traders 202 or "2 per cent;
craftsmen 4962 or 6"6 per cent; and miscellaneous persons 13,296 or
17'8 per cent. There are no beggars. There were 13,521 houses,
or on an average, 17'1 to the square mile. Of the whole number, 53,
lodging 217 persons or "3 per cent of the entire population with
a population per house of 4'09 souls, were of the better sort, tiled
and brick walled. The remaining 13,468, accommodating 74,375
persons or 99 "7 per cent, with a population per house of 5'5 souls,
were thatched huts with mud walls. Of the 264 villages, 133 had
200 inhabitants, 99 had from 200 to 500, 27 from 500 to 1000,
4 from 1000 to 2000, and one from 2000 to 3000.

Towards the west the soil is a poor black, eastwards it becomes Agriculture,
poorer, and, amongst the hills near Surgana and Peint, yields only
scanty crops of the coarser grains. In some hollows among the hills
the soil is better, and rice and sugarcane are grown to a limited extent.
Except in Dharampur and five or six other villages bordering on
Balsar and Chikhli, water is drawn both from wells and rivers. Rice,
dangar, Oriza sativa, both fine and coarse, is the chief crop ; while
among pulses tuver, Cajanus indicus, and mag, Phaseolus radiatus,
and sugarcane, serdi, Sacoharum officinarum, are grown to a
limited extent. In the west the crops are the same as those in the
east of Balsar. To the east and south inferior crops of the poorer
grains, such as ndgli, Bleusine coracana, and Itod/ra, Paspalum
Bcrobioulatum, are grown. The mode of tillage is the same as in
the neighbouring British districts.

There is a cleared road from Dharampur to Balsar, passable for Trade.

carts except during the rains. Another cleared road running from
Peint to Chival, a village in Pardi, passes through about twenty miles
of Dharampur territory. Prom Chival to Pardi, a made road passable
for carts all the year round, affords an easy approach to the railway.
A cart road passing south through Peint joins Dharampur with the
Nasik station on the Great Indian Peninsula line. A regular post
kept up by the chief runs between Balsar and Dharampur. Trade
is small and there are no available returns. Wood and some
grain find their way to Balsar and Daman ; and articles of luxury
and salt pass to Dharampur from Balsar. There is some little
through traffic from Peint to Balsar. Besides the ordinary gold,
iron, brass, and wood work, the only manufactures are mats, baskets,
and other bamboo articles.

1 The details are : DublAs 1150 ; Ndikds 2953 ; Dhundida 17,713 ; K4thodi4a 50 ;
Bhirpis 73 ; Agria 4630 ; and DhArlis 23,347 ; total 49,916.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
256 STATES.

Dharampur. The ruling family are Sisodia Rajputs of the Solar race. According

History, to their own traditions, they, about 700 years ago, under a certain

Ram Raja, conquered the country from the Bhils ; and from their first
leader their territory used to be, and, still is, called Ramnagar.^ In
the 15th century the fort of Parnera belonged to it.^ In 1576*
the chief of Dharampur, or Ramnagar, went to meet Raja Todar Mai
at Broach, gave him £1200 (Rs. 12,000) and four horses, and was
allowed to assume the rank of 1500 horse, and agreed to serve the
Gujarat Viceroy with 1000 cavalry. In 1609 to check the
incursions of the Ahmednagar armies, a force of 25,000 men was
stationed at Ramnagar in Dharampur, the chiefs sending contingents
according to their respective power and position,* Shivaji,
in his attacks on Surat (1664-1670)^ was helped by the chiefs of
Ghar and Ramnagar. In 1672 paying a complimentary visit to the
chief he took the fort of Ramnagar, saying that he must have the
key of his treasure, Surat, in his own hands. Early in the eighteenth
century 1727, the Marathas further increased their power over
the Raja, taking away seventy-two of his villages® and forcing him
to pay one-fourth of his transit dues. In 1 785, a year of drought,
the people rose on the chief, marched on Dharampur, and burnt the
castle.^ The connection of the British with the Dharampur chief
dates from 1803, when, under the terms of the treaty of Bassein
(1802, December 31st), the Peshwa's claims to tribute were made
over to the British.^ In 1831, Raja Vijaydevji fell so deeply in
debt that an Arab officer, who had become his surety, threatened
force if his claims were not paid. The chief called in the Bombay
Government, and an arrangement was made under which, many
villages were mortgaged to the creditors, and a fixed sum set apart
for the chief's support. The chief spent the rest of his life in
Surat and Baroda living in the most extravagant and dissolute
style, and always sunk in debt.^ He was in 1857 succeeded by
his son Ramdevji, and he in 1860 by his son Narandevji, the present
chief, who, living at Dharampur, manages his affairs with prudence,
and, subject to the advice and general control of the Political Agent,
himself administers the state.'" The chief change since the accession

' The head-quarters would seem to have at first been at Gambhirgad near Saujdn,
then at Asharsheta, next (1710) at Nagar in the Fatehpur Nagar Haveli. They were
finally moved to their present site by Il4ja Dharamdevji in 1766, when the name
of the town was changed from ModvegAn to Dharampur.

^ Briggs' Ferishta, IV, 51. Grants of land and writings on temples and wells show
that Dharampur once included the eight divisions of Gambhirgad, Segva, Asharsheta,
BAhdra, Udva, BAMpur, Dharampuri, and Nagar Haveli.

3 Bird's Mirdt-i-Ahmadi, 344.

* Major Watson's History of Gujardt, 68.

= Orme's Historical Fragments, 27, 28.

5 These villages were afterwards made over to the Portuguese by the Max&th&B, and
now form part of Daman .

' The state records were destroyed in a fire in 1785, and nothing regarding the
early history of the state can now be traced.

« Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 318, 319, CXXIII.

' The whole of this debt has been paid off by the present ruler Ndraudevji.

" No family tree of the Dharampur house is available. According to bardic
accounts the present chief is the twenty-first in descent from the founder of the house.
The names of the former rulers are. Ram Rdja, Somshih, Purandarshih, Dharamshah I ,

Oajarit.1

SURAT.

257

of the present ruler, was, in 1870, on condition of lowering tte rates Dharampur.
to Khandesh and paying a yearly sum of £900, the grant of the History,

perpetual farm of the British share of transit duties.

The Dharampur chief exercises second class powers, trying his
own subjects for every class of ofEences. The family follows the rule
of primogeniture and has a patent, sanad, allowing adoption. He
maintains a force of 203 men and is entitled to a salute of nine
guns.

The land revenue and licjuor contracts are for the most part farmed Land,

to Pdrsis and sometimes to Hindus and Musalmans. The farmers, as a
rule, pay the Raja partly in cash and partly in grain and grass. There
are many cesses, but all are generally included in the gross sum
leviable from the village householders. The land is not liable to be
sold for private debts. The incidence of the land tax is much the
same as in Bansda.

The chief is the final authority in civil and criminal matters. Justice.

Under him is a judge, nydyddhish, in whose hands all details of
procedure are left. Except civil suits settled by arbitration the judge
hears both civU and criminal cases. Depositions are taken in hia
presence and the case is decided summarily. Murder is punished by
life imprisonment, other heinous crimes by imprisonment, and less
grave offences by fine and whipping. There is no village police.
A regular district corps under a chief constable has lately been
formed.

There are three schools at Dharampur, one for girls and two for Instruction,
boys. One is an Anglo-vernacular school teaching English up to the
fifth standard. There are five more schools in other parts of the state.
Arrangements have lately been made for introducing vaccination.

Arua'i, about nine miles south of Dharampur,,has a hot spring where Places of Interest,
a yearly fair is held on Ghaitra sud 15th (April-May) . Dharampur,
with, in 1872, a population of 3233 souls, has, besides the chief's
straggling inconvenient palace, some well built houses. It has
a dispensary and a good school, and something has been done
to water and light its streets. Nagar, the ancient capital of the
state, about twenty-four miles south-west of Dharampur has a
yearly fair on Ghaitra sud 15th (April -May). Pa'nikliadak and
Panga'rba'ri have small yearly fairs in the month of Ghaitra
(April -May). Pindval and Veta'l, small hills, have the ruins of
old forts.

GopnahAh, Jagatshih, NiranshAh I., DharamshAh 11., Jagder, Lakshmandev, Som-
dev II., Edmdev I., Sadev, Rdmdev II., Dharamdev III. , Harandev II. , Somdev III.,
Eupdev, Vijaydev (died 1857), R4mdev III. (died 1860), and NArandev III. (the
present Chief).

B 561—33

[Bomljay Gazetteer,

Sachin.
Deaoription,

Ctimate.

Product?.

Population,

Tillage.

SACHI N',

Sachiu, an estate of twenty villages, scattered tbrongh tie
Chorasi and Jalalpur sub-divisions of Surat, in about 21° 41' north
latitude and 73° 5' east longitude, has a total area of sixty-five
square -niiles, with, in 1872, a population of 17,103 souls or 263"12
to the square mile, and, in 1878, a revenue of £17,717 (Es. 1,77,170).

Especially in the villages of Dumas and Bhimpor at the mouths
of the Tapti and Mindhola, the climate is healthy and pleasant. The
average yearly rainfall is about thirty-six inches, and the average
range of the thermometer from 80° to 90°. The common forms of
sickness are fever, cough, and bowel affections.

There are no forests, but, as in the neighbouring parts of Surat,
there is a free growth of mango, dmba, Mangifera indica, tamarind,
dmli, Tamarindus indica, nim, limhdo, Melia azadirachta, banyan,
vad, Ficus indica, piplo, Picus religiosa, wild date, khajuri.
Phoenix sylvestris, and other trees.

The 1872 census gives a total population of 17,103 souls, of
whom 14,678 or 85-8 per cent were Hindus, 2272 or 13'3 per cent
Musalmans, and 153 or '9 per cent Parsis. There were, in 1872,
4491 houses, or an average of 100 houses to each square mile. Of
these, 415, lodging 1964 persons or 11-4 per cent of the whole
population at the rate of 4" 7 souls to each house, were built of
stone or fire-baked brick. The remaining 4076, accommodating
16,554 souls or 88'6 per cent at the rate of 4'06 persons to each
house, were mud walled, grass or palm-leaf thatched huts. Of
the twenty villages, two had a population of less than 200 souls, six
had from 200 to 500, six from 500 to 1000, four from 1000 to 2000,
and two from 2000 to 5000. Except deep-sea fishers, sailors, and
tile turners, who sometimes leave their homes for as long as eight
months at a time, the whole of the Sachin people is stationary.

The soil is in some places black, and in others light. The
number of ponds and wells, of which there is a good supply, is
being yearly increased.^ The chief crops are rice, ddngar, Oryza
sativa ; millet, hdjri, Penicillaria spicata ; Indian millet, juvdr,
Sorghum vulgare ; wheat, g'/iaw, Triticum sesti\um j tuver, Cajanus
indicus; mag, Phaseolus radiatus; sugarcane, serdi, Saccharum
officinarum; and cotton, hapds, Gossypium herbaceum. The tillage
is the same as in the neighbouring British and Gaikwar villages.

> From materials supplied by Mr. E. 0. K. OUivant, Assistant Collector in charge
of Sachin.

2 In 1878 a sum of £456 (Es. 4560) was spent in building and repairing wells
and pouda.

Giijar&t.]

SURAT.

259

A lately built breakwater at Dumas and a causeway at Bhimpor,
by keeping out the tidal water, prepare the way for making culturable
a large area of salt land.

The business of money-lending is almost entirely in the hands of
grain-dealers, as a rule Marvadi Shravaks. Formerly most state
demands were payable in Broach rupees ; but the British is the
only currency now recognised. Except labourers employed by the
state, whose daily wages in the lifetime of the late Nawdb were
Bd. (2 annas) for a man, 2id. (1| annas) for a woman^ and l^d.
(1 anna) for a boy, the same prices and wages prevail as in the
neighbouring British villages. The weights and measures are the
same as in Surat.

Up to the death of the late Nawab (1873), except three miles,
between Bhimpor and Gaviar on the way to Surat, ' there were no
made roads. Since 1873, bridged and metalled roads have been
made^ from the Bhimpor road to Dumas 1^ miles, from Sachin to
the railway station three-quarters of a mile, and from Sachin to
Lachpor on the Mindhola river two miles. The Sachin section
of the Sachin and Surat road is now under construction. A bridge,
over the tidal creek at the village of Udhna was completed in.
1877-78 at a cost of £1635 12s. (Rs. 16,356), and in 1877-78. a rest-.
house was built at Sachin.

There are three ferries on the Mindhola river between Sachin and
the Gaikwar's Maroli sub-division.

There is one post-ojBSce in the town of Sachin,, under the manage-
ment of the British post department.

The Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway runs through
about seven miles of the state. The average traffic at the Sachin
station, during the five years ending 1877, was, of passengers 22,988,
and of goods 1672 tons.^

The hand-loom weaving of cotton cloth is carried on in one or
two villages, chiefly in Kotha, whose cloth, woven by Musalman Tais,
is held in high local esteem. Near Sachin station is a steam cotton
ginning and pressing factory.

The Nawab of Sachin is of African descent.* When his
ancestors came to India is doubtful. During the fifteenth century,
under the name of the Sidis of Danda-Rajapur and Janjira in
the Konkan, they were known, first as the Bijapur (1489-1686),
and afterwards as the Moghal, admirals. Under Bijapur, their fieet
guarded commerce and carried pilgrims to Mecca, and, in 1660
on receiving a yearly grant of £30,000 (Rs. 3,00,000) from the Surat
revenues, they became Aurangzeb's admirals. In the eighteenth

Sachin.

Capital.

Roadsi.

Ferries.

Post-office,

Railway.

Manufactures.
History.

' In 1878, £2069 (Rs. 20,690) were spent on road repairs.

' The details are: 1873, passengers 20,318, goods 1483 tons; 1874, passengers
24,448, goods 1228 tons; 1875, passengers 23,142, goods 1419 tons ; 1876, passengers
23,143, goods 1900 tons ; and 1877, passengers 23,890, goods 2329 tons.

« In western India Habshi includes not only Abyssinians but Africans from the
Somali coast.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
260 STATES.

Sachin. century on tlie decline of Moghal power, the Janjira Sidis became

History. notorious pirates, plundering tte ships of all nations except the

English, whose friendship they cultivated.^ During the early years
of the eighteenth century, the Sidis were at constant war with the
Marathas, and, though thePeshwa succeeded (1736-37) in annexing
the greater part of their lands, he failed, in spite of yearly expeditions,
to take their island fort.* In 1762, to the exclusion of Abdul
Eahim the rightful heir, Sidi Yakut succeeded at Janjira. Helped
by the Marathas, Abdul Rahim, though defeated and a fugitive,
was so formidable a rival, that Sidi Yakut compromised the dispute
by promising that, on his death, Abdul Rahim should succeed to
Danda-Rajapur and Janjira. Under this agreement Abdul Rahim
succeeded in 1772, and continued to rule till his death in 1784. On
Abdul Rahim's death, to the exclusion of his eldest son Abdul Karim
Yakut Khan commonly called Balu Mia, Sidi Johar, commandant
of Janjira seized the chiefship.^ Balu Mia fled to Poena. His
cause was strongly supported by Nana Phadnavis, who was anxious
by some means to gain power over the unconquerable island of
Janjira. Johar appealed to the English to settle the dispute, declaring
that he would fight as long as he had one man left and the rock
of Janjira remained. Efforts were made to prevent the outbreak of
war, and, on his making over his claims on Janjira to the Peshwa,
Yakut Khan or Balu Mia was guaranteed a tract of land near Surat
estimated to yield £7500 (Rs. 75,000) a year.*

The first instalment of the grant consisted of seventeen detached
villages in the Chorasi sub-division known as the sattargdmpa/rgana.
As it was found that the territory, then granted, did not yield the
promised revenue, an addition was made of three Parchol villages
now part of Jalalpur. But as the Peshwa never succeeded in
reducing Janjira, no farther grant of territory was made. Balu Mia
arrived at Surat, and, after a short residence there, proceeded to
the small fort of Sachin, which he had chosen as his head- quarters.
Shortly after on paying the Emperor Shah Alam II. a fee, nazarwna,
he received the title of Nawab. He afterwards changed his
residence to Lachpor, and, dying in 1802, was succeeded by his son
Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan. In 1816 an attempt was made
to induce the Nawab to transfer to the British, criminal and civil
jurisdiction in his villages. But as the concessions offered were not
considered sufficient, the negotiations fell to the ground. His
(extravagant habits plunged the Nawab into money difficulties, and
jin 1833 an inquiry, made by the British Government, showed

f- In a .treaty with the Sidis, the British Grovemment, in 1733, pledged itself to
.perpetual alliance and sincere friendship.

' In 1736-37 the Peshwa acquired half the revenues of eleven mahdls in the
Habshi's territory. During their ascendancy, every year between 1682 and 1736 the
MarAthAs attacked Janjira, but, having to leave during the rainy season, always failed
to take the islaJtid.

s Sidi Y^kut had made a will bequeathing the principality to the second son of
Abdul Kahim at his father's ,d^th,ttiiider the guardianship, in case of a minority, of
his own friend Sidi Jojiar. Grant Duff's History, (Bom. Ed.) 507.

* Aitohisou's Treaties (I876), IV. 315, CXXIII.

Onjar&t.]

SURAT. 261

claims against his estate amounting altogether to £132,823 10s. Sachin.

(Ra. 13j28,235). At his request the British Government agreed to History.

effect a settlement. In 1835 ^ the debt was guaranteed ; and all the

villages, except Sachin and L£chpor, were attached and the country

managed by the District Judge then Agent at Surat ; and, after

setting apart £1800 (Rs. 18,000) a year for the maintenance of

the Nawab, the balance, about £6700 (Rs. 67,000), was spent in

paying off the debt.^ Dying in 1 853, the Nawab was succeeded

by his son Sidi Abdul Karim Khan. In 1859,3 when £78,581

(Rs. 7,85,810) of the debt had been paid, the attachment was

withdrawn, and, as the revenue had fallen to £7891 (Rs. 78,910),

G-overnment agreed to hand over the whole estate to the Nawab, on

his promising to pay, every year before the first of June, a sum

of £3500 (Rs, 35,000), until the outstanding sum of £54,242

(Rs. 5,42,420) should be cleared off. In 1859 the Nawab received

a patent, sanad, guaranteeing the succession of his state according

to Musalman law. Till his death in December 1868, he regularly

paid the yearly sum of £3500 (Rs. 35,000). He was succeeded by

his son Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan, who died in 1873 leaving

a son Abdul ■ Kadar, the present chief, then a boy of nine years.

Since 1873 the state has been managed by an assistant to the

Political Agent of Surat, and, by regular yearly instalments, the

whole of the debt was cleared off in 1877.

The following is the Sachin family tree :

(I.) Abdul Karim YAkut Khin (commonly known as BAlu Mia)
(died 1802).

(II.) Ibrahim YAkut Khdn

(died 1853).

(III.) -Abdul Karim KMn
(died 1868).

(IV.) Ibrahim Muhammad Yikut Khdn
(died 1873).

(V.) Abdul KAdar
(the present Chief).

The chief is entitled to a salute of nine guns, and has power to
try all offences committed by the people of his state. He maintains
a force of sixty-two men. In point of succession the family follows
the rule of primogeniture.

The state lands are tilled on the holding, khdtabandi, system. In Land,

theory, possession depends on the Nawab's pleasure ; in practice,
a holder cannot be ousted unless he fails to pay the assessment.
Holdings can be transferred only with the chief's sanction and on

' This and not 1829 (Aitchison's Treaties, IV. 311) seems to have been the date of
the attachment.
" The terms of the agreement are given in Aitchison's Treaties (1876), IV. 316.
' This and not 1864 (Aitchison's Treaties, IV, 311) seems to be the correct date.

IBomltay Gazetteer,
262 STATES.

Sachin. the payment of a fee, nazardna, varying from five per cent of the

Land. assessment in the case of direct male successionj to twenty per cent

on a transfer to an outsider.^

Arable waste taken for tillage pays a fee, nazardna, of about
twenty per cent on the first year's assessment. Neither land nor
field tools are liable to be sold for private debts. In all the villages
the land assessment is paid in money, and generally speaking the
fields are tilled by the persons in whose names they stand. Of
26,814 acres the total area, 23,604 belong to the state, and 3210
are alienated. Of the state land 63,921 acres are unarable. Of the
arable area 15,649 acres are occupied and 1568 acres waste. On
the occupied arable land the assessment averages 16s. 3d. (Rs. 8 as. 2)
an acre, compared with IS*; 4^ci. (Rs. 6 as. 11) including the
local fund cess, in the neighbouring British villages. The acre rates,
on land able to yield sugarcane and similar crops, vary from £2 6s.
to £3 (Rs. 23-30), on rice land from £1 Is. to £2 18s. (Rs. 10^-29),
and on ordinary dry crop land from 4s, to £1 10s. (Rs. 2-15). The
revenue is collected in two villages in two instalments, December
and February, and in the rest in three instalments, December,
February, and April. The process for the recovery of arrears is the
same as in British villages. Billets, mohsals, are seldom resorted
to. Remissions are granted in cases of damage by fire or flood,. of
extreme poverty, or in specially bad seasons.

Justice. Civil and criminal authority rests with the Nawab and his officers.

Formerly to settle questions of usage, caste heads and councils,
panchdyats, and in fiscal matters, village headmen and other hereditary
revenue officers, were consulted by the Nawab. In cases decided
by the Nawab, the statements of witnesses were taken iu writing
by the court clerks, and were then read over to the Nawab in the
Darbar room, usually in the absence of the parties. In civil suits
a commission of ten per cent on the amount at issue was paid by
the plaintiff in advance, and recovered from the defendant if the
plaintiff gained the suit. Process fees were also levied at rates
varying from 3d. to 4s. {annas 2 - Rs. 2). In criminal cases, the
usual punishment was, in the lighter offence^ tine, and in the more
heinous, imprisonment. On the complainant paying a fee of 2s.
(Re. 1) petty offences might be compromised. During the minority
of the present Nawab, British codes and acts have been introduced,
and the following courts established. The court of the minister,
dvwdn, with jurisdiction in civil suits up to £100 (Rs. 1000) ; of the
sub-divisional magistrate, tahsilddr, with the powers of a second class
magistrate; of the Assistant Agent in charge of the state with, in
criminal matters, the powers of a district magistrate and assistant
judge, and in civil cases the powers of an assistant judge ; and of the
Agent to the Governor with the powers of a pistrict and Sessions
Judge, Government exercising the powers of the High Court. In

* The details are : direct male descent, 5 per cent ; direct female descent, 10 per
cent ; collateral succession, 10 per cent ; transfer, 20 per cent.

3ujar^t.]

SURAT. 263

1878-79, 306 civil, 126 criminal/ and three appeal cases were Sachin.

disposed of. Registration is practised, and fees levied according to Justioe.

the following scale : on deeds of sale and mortgage bonds, a five

and four per cent fee ; on wills and adoption deeds, a fixed fee of

10s. (Rs. 5) J and on all other deeds, a fixed fee of 8s. (Rs. 4). From

the Kolis of Dumas a divorce fee of £5 (Rs. 50) is levied, and

a fee of 2s. 6d. (Re. IJ) on applications for the restitution of

conjugal rights. A. fee of 2s. (Re. 1) is also charged on powers

of attorney, petitions of appeal, sealing decrees, ard withdrawing

from, or compromising, suits. A fee of Is. (aivnas 8) is charged on

agreements and security bonds. On ordinary petitions the fee is

l^d. [anna 1).

Most villages have a police as well as a revenue head whose Police.

emoluments are fixed. The other village servants combine revenue
and police duties. The chief of them, the village messenger, havdlddr,
is paid at 8s. (Rs. 4) a month ; the rest, from one to five in number,
of the Dubla or DJjieda cast, enjoy rent-free plots of land. At
the head of the police is a chief constable, faujddr, whose head-
quarters are at Sachin, and who has the control of the troops,
sihandi, 64 in number, 24 Arabs, 1 7 mounted, and 23 foot police.
The Arabs, the armed police of the state, are directly under a
jamdddr, an Arab of some importance, who supplies the contingents
in Dharampur, Bansda, and Sachin. The mounted police and
constables, though ordinarily employed on revenue or escort duties,
are available for police purposes. Occasionally proprietors, girdsids,
are called on to supply police guards at the Nawab's residence.

During the forty-three years ending 1879, the gross yearly revenue Revenue,

has risen from £9500 to £18,956 (Rs. 95,000- 1,89,560). After paying
the last of the debt, and with outstanding liabilities amounting to
only £1067 (Rs. 10,670), there remained on the 31st July 1878 a
balance of £14,396 (Rs. 1,43,960).

As a source of revenue spirits come next to land. This, as in Excise,

the Surat district, consists of the amount bid by village tavern-
keepers at a public auction for the right to make and sell spirits and
palm juice, tddi.

Under the head cesses, the chief items are : on the cotton press Cesses,

and ginning yards, from £1 to £5 ; on the village shepherds, from
£1 10s. to £6 ; on the tanners, 6s. to £2-6 ; on each grain dealer
and money-lender, 6s. to £5 ; on each goldsmith, 4s. to 12*-. ; on
each weaver, 4s. to 8s. ; on each butcher, 10s. ; on each cotton
cleaner, 2s. to 12s. ; on each oil-seller, 4s. to 8s. ; and on
each fisherman^ and sea-coast Koli, 2s. to 10s. There is also a
duty of 7^ pounds on every cart-load of 1200 pounds (30 Surat
mans) of grain imported into Dumas. The right to levy this duty,

1 The details are : hurt 29, wrongful restraint 4, insult and petty assaults 19,
mischief 30, house-trespass 1, theft 30, criminal breach of trust 3, cattle pound
offences 6, and excise 4 ; total, 126.

2 Besides the poll cess, the Dumas, Bhimpor, and Gaviar fishers pay on each stake
net, golva, £1 10«. ; on each drag net, lodh, Is, ; on each marriage, lO^d. ; and on
each re-marriage, 5s,

tBombay Sazetteer,

264

STATES.

Sachin. as well as the right of selling copper and brass vessels is put to

Cesses. auction, and brings, on an average, from £2-10 to £3 (Rs. 25-30).

A yearly sum of £1 5s. (Rs. 12^) is levied from the Dumas shop-
keepers in consideration of their having the sole right of buying the
thread spun by the fishermen. Under the head of cesses comes the
right to levy what is known as the Dumas chohi dues. This right
is at present farmed for a yearly sum of £201 14s. (Rs. 2017).
The dues consist of an additional twenty-five per cent on the cesses
on fishermen and sea coast Kolis, on stake and drag nets, and on the
masters of ships. This right, which formerly belonged to the British
Grovernment,^ was made over to the Nawab in 1865, upon his
undertaking to pay a fixed yearly sum of £170 (Rs. 1700). The
state draws no revenue from customs or transit dues. Tolls are
taken at two places, one on the Sachin and Surat road for the repairs
of a bridge over a tidal creek, the other at the ferry at the mouth of
the Mindhola river between Bhimpor and the Gaikwar village of
Danti.

Crown Dues. Under this hqad comei the crown dues, nazardnds, payments made

by state servants and others in public assembly on the Dasera, the
Moharam, and the Eamzdn and Bakri Ids. Village headmen and
accountants pay 4s. and 3s. (Rs. 2 and IJ) respectively. Besides
these items certain original dues, mdmuli haks, of sheep, dried fish,
rope, thread, vegetables, and earthen vessels, worth about £50
(Rs. 500) a year, are levied in kind.

Instruction. According to the 1872 census, of 14,678 the total Hindu population,

1184 or 8-06 per cent; of 2272 the total Musalman population, 122
(males 119, females 3) or 5*3 per cent; and of 153 the total Parai
population, 38 (males 30, females 8) or 24"8 per cent, were able to read
and write or were being taught. Within the last four years the
number of schools and pupils has much increased. There are (1879),
under the education department, five schools maintained at a yearly
cost of £113 (Rs. 1130), with an average attendance of 176 pupils,
and two private grant-in-aid schools.

Health. The dispensary, opened in 1878, was, in that year, at a cost of

£93 (Rs. 930) attended by 1775 out-door and three in-door patients.
Of the out-door patients 1728 were cured, one died, ten left, and ten
were under treatment at the close of \ the year. The chief diseases
were malarious fever,' liver, and skin afiections. In 1878, 409 persons
were vaccinated.

Places of Interest. Bhimpor, a village of 2772 souls on the sea-coast near the mouth
of the Tapti, has a small temple dedicated to Hanumdn. On the 1 4th
of the first half of Bhddrapad (September-October) a yearly fair is held
in honour of the god, when people from Surat throng in numbers.

' It is hard to say how the British Government came to have this right. The
present Sachin villages in the OhorAsi sub-division belonged to the G&ikw&r, who
granted them to Sakh4r&m B&pu from whom they passed into the Peshwa's hands.
Whetheir the Dumas choM dues ever belonged to the Peshwa, or whether they passed
direct to the British as an appurtenance of the port and city of Surat, or were
acquired by them through the GAikwir, is doubtful.

(iiijarit.l

SURAT. 265

Dunia<S, a village of 4531 souls, a mile from Bhimpor, with, some Sachin.

good houses, excellent water, and a cool climate, is, during the hot
season, a favourite resort for the European residents of Surat. It
has a school-house, with room for 200 children, built in 1878 at a
cost of £200 (Rs. 2000).

Sachin, a small village of 722 souls, has, besides the Nawab's
palace and a garden, a school, a dispensary, and a post office.

B 561—34

I N D E X'.

Abyssinian Agate Workers : 206, note 3.

Iga: Eashid Beg, minister (1766), 228.
Agar : state, 142.

Agates : R. K. 11-12 ; manufacture of, 37 ;',C. 198,
200.

Agate Cups : 205, note 1.

Age : population according to, 21.

Agriculture : R. K. 38-40 ; C. 183.

Ahmad I.: 217.

Ahmad II. : 218.

Aj^u: river, 92.

Akhar : 218.

Ala-ud-diu Khilji : 216.

Alva : state, 143.

Amrdipur : estate, 151.

Amrdvati : river, 5.

Anamdera : place of interest, 157.

AudiVla : a Brahman sub-division. See Bhdthela,

Aughad : state, 150,

Animals: B. K., 16-17 ; C. 183.

Area : B. K. l ; C. 181.

Arndi = place of interest, 257.

Arras : battle of, 230.

Ashraphi : a Cambay ulcer, 183,

Ashvin : river, 5.

Aspect : B. K. 2 ; C. 181.

Assessment : B. K. 70 ; c. 234.

Audich : a BrAhman sub-division, 23.

Bdbd,ghor : agates, B. K. 162, footnote ; C. 207.

Bighvati ; tiger town, 183.

BdMsinor : state, l, 2 ; area, boundaries, popula-
tion, sub- divisions, history, family tree, 137-140 ;
place of interest, 157.

Balhards : rulers of Cambay (915), 214.

Bande Ali: Nawdb (1823), 232. See Momin
Khto IV.

Bd.nsda : area, boundaries, aspect, rivers, water
supply, climate, trees, animals, population, soil,
crops, tillage, husbandmen ; money-lending,
currency, wages, roads, post, land trade, fairs,
history ; land administration, justice, revenue
and finance, instruction, health, vaccination,
town, 245-253.

Bdrg&ma : sub-division, 98.

BarhOSa : traveller (1514), 206.

Bards and Actors : 25.

Bdriya : state, 1,2; boundaries, aspect, rivers, hillB,
climate, products, population, sub-divisions, his-
tory, development (1865-1876), family tree, 115-
130 ; place of interest, 157- 159.

Bassein : treaty of (1820), 232, 250.

Bivd,pir : place of interest, 159.

Bd,wa Ghor : camelian merchant, R. K. 168 ;
C, 206,

Bawd,rij ; pirates, 188.

Beggars: 25,

Bhddarva : state, 152,

Bhilod : sub-division, 97.

Bhartharis : songsters, 25.

Bhdrts : as escorts, 194,

Bhdthela : a Brahman sub-division, 23, 253,

Bhils : tribe of, appearance, house, dress, food,
occupation, character, religion, holidays, festivals,
customs, community, 26-32, 95 footnote,

Bhilodia : state, 145,

Bhimpor : place of interest, 264,

Bhoi : caste of, 25.

Bihora: state, 144.

Birds : 17.

Blind : 21.

Bohora : a Musabn^ sect, 185.

Boundaries : B. K. 1 ; C. 181.

Brdhmans : B. K. 22-23 ; settlement in Cambay,
214 ; plunder of, 228.

British Government : connection with, R. K. 61 ;
C. (1802-1880), 232, 233.

CsBSar : Frederic, traveller (1585), 191, 218.
Cambay : a sanitarium (1837), 182 ; plundered

(1304, 1.347, 1349), 216 ; (1535, 1538), 217 ; place

of interest, 240-241.
Cambay Stones : Camelians, agates and othei;

varieties ; processes of manufacture, ornaments,

polishers, trade guilds, trade history, 198 ,207,
Capital: 41-45.
Capitalists : R. K. 41 ; C. 209.
Camelians : 198, 199.
Carpets : manufacture of, 208.

» In this index K. K. stands for Bewa Kantha, C, for Cambay.

268

INDEX.

Castes : 22-34.

Census : see Population.

Chalukyas : rulers of Cambay (950), 214.

Chdmpdner : city, 59, 60.

Chdnod : place of interest, 159 - 161.

Ch&t Habeli : sub-division, 123.

Chhdliar : state, 152.

Chhota Udepur : state, l, 2 ; boundaries, aspect,
rivers, hills, climate, crops, population, sub-divi-
sions, history, family tree, 110-115.

Cholera : 89.

Choringla : state, 145.

Christians : 35.

Chudesar : state, 145.

Climate : R. K. 10 ; C. 182.

Cloth : weaving of, R. K. 66-58 ; C. export of, 191 ;
■weaving of, 208,

Communications : 187,

Communities : 35.

Condition of Cambay: (1345), 216 ; (1459-1513),
217 ; (1600.1700), 219 ; (1737-1748), 224 ; (1772),
229 ; C. (1838), 233.

Cotton gins:.

Courts : number and workingof, K, K. 77^80 ; C, 235.

Craftsmen : 25, 42.

Crimes : see Offences.

Crops : R. K. 39 ; C, 183.

Currency:R. K. 43;C. 209,

Customs ; 238,

Day-labourers : see Labouring Classes.

Deaf and Dumb : 21.

De la Valle : traveUer (1623), 219.

Density of Population : R. K. 19 ; C. 184,

Depressed Classes : 25.

Dev ! river, 5.

Devalia : Sitate, 143.

Dev Mogra : pla.ce of interest, 161.

Dev Satia : peak, s.

Dbari : state, 152.

Dhd.nkds : caste of, 34, 95 footnote.

Dharampur State: area,boundaries,aspect, water-
supply, climate, products, population, soil, crops,
roads, history, land management, justice, in-
struction, places of interest, 254-257,

Dbumkhal : place of interest, 161.

Diseases: R. K. 10, 89 ; C, 183,

Dispensaries ; 89.

Div : island, 6.

Domestic Animals : 16,

Dor : see Sursi.
Dorka : estate, 153.
Dorka Mehvas : states, l, 2.
Dudhia : sub-division, 116.

Dudhpur : state, 144.
Drainage : R. K. 7 ; C. 182.
Dudan : river, 92.
Dumas : place of interest, 265,

Education : see Instruction.
Embroidery : 208.

English at Cambay : 0. 218, 219, 220-1, 224.
Expeditions : 189, footnote 5 ; 229.
Exports : C. (1600), 190-191.

F. '

Factories : Dutch and English, 195, 219, 224, 232.

Family tree : R. K. 109, 115, 120, 131, 136, 140 ;
C. 233.

Fairs: Dev Dungaria, 157; Chtood, 160; Dev
Mogra, 161 ; Jeyor, 161 ; Limodra, 162 ; Lun4-
vdda, 164; Mokhdi Ghdnta, 165; Mota Sija,
165 ; SanjAla, 168 ; Virpur, 170 ; Vu&i, 249,253 ;
AroM and Nagar, 257 ; Bhimpor, 264.

Famines : see Years of Scarcity.

Fateh Ali : Nawdb, C. 231 ; see Momin KhAn III,

Females : proportion of, in population, R. K. 20 ;
C. 184,

Ferries : R. K. 6, 50 ; C. 187,

Pinch : traveller (1611), 219,

Field tools: 38,

Fish : 18.

Forests ; 15.

Gad : state, 143.
Gadhesing : legend of, 213.
Gajni : old Cambay, 213, footnote 2.
Gandhdr : ruined city, 218, footnote 4.

Gemelli Careri : traveller (1695), 22O.
Geology: R. K. 7-10; C. 182.
Ghinchis : a Musalmdn sect, 35.
Girls' schools : 87.

Gomtivils : a Brahman sub-division, 23.
Gotardi : state, 150.
Gothra : state, 150.
Grain : cultivation of, 39.

Gulf of Cambay : silting of, 195, footoote 2; 214,
footnotes 1 and 6.

Hamilton: traveller (1720), 220.

Himph : place of interest, 112, 161.

Haraph : river, 115.

Harbour : 194.

HayeU : sub-division, 116.

Herdsmen : 25.

Hills : 2.

INDEX.

269

History : (Rewa Ka'ntha) legends, early Hindus
to 1484; Musalmin ascendancy (J484-1700) ; local
revival (1700-1730), 59-60; Mardtha supremacy
(1730-1820) ; British supervision; first NAikda
rising (1838) ; Mutiny (1857) ; second N4ikda
rising (1868) ; changes (1820-1879), 60-66.

,, : (Oambay) name, legends, BaUiarAs (915) ;
ChMukyas (942); PArsis (1094); Jains (1241-
1242) ; VdgheUs (1250) ; early Delhi Governors
(1300-1400); Ahmedabad Kings (1400-1573);
Moghals (1573-1730); Naw^lbs (1730-1880);
family tree, 211-233.
Honey : varieties of, 253.
Hum&yrm: (1530), 217.
Husbandmeu : 24, 39.

I
Ibn Batuta : African traveller (1342), 216.
Idiots : 21.

Immigration: see Migration.
Imports: 191-193.
Indigo : cultivation of, 183.

Instruction : statistics of,K.K. 86-88; C. 238-239.
Interest : rates of, 4i.
Iron : n.

ItimadKllin : regent (1560), 218.
Itvdd : state, 152.

J.
Jlldbugd.m : sub-division, 112.
Jadvi : Bhil headman, 32.
Jails : 82.

Jains : at Oambay (1241), 215.
J^ma Mosque : at Cambay, 216, footnote 3, 241.
J^mbugboda : place of interest, 178.
Jesar ; state, 150.
Jetpur : sub-division, 112.
Jeyor : place of interest, 161.
Jhagadia : sub-division, 97.
Jhdrola : caste of, 24.
Jiral Kamsoli : state, 145.
JnmMia : estate, 151.

Justice: courts, civil and criminal, 77-78; crime,
courts of award, police, jails, 79-82 ; 0. judicial
authorities, civil suits, the Kdzi, procedure,
police, 235-237.

KdiChbids : caste of, 24,

Kadina : state, 1, 2 ; area, rivers, hills, soil, popu-
lation, history, 154-155 ; town, 161.
Eadvil : sub-division, 112.
Eikadkhila : sub-division, 117.
Ealiinrai : restorer of Oambay, 216.
Kdliparaj : black races, 246, 255.
Kanbis : caste of, 24.
Kanora : state, 151,

KantAji Kadam : invasion of (1725), 221.
Kard^li : sub-division, 112.

K&ti : river, 6.
Karjan : river, 2, 5, 92.
Kasla Pagi : state, 152.
Kdthis and Kolis : forays of (1766), 228.
KAtho : catechu, manufacture of, 57.
Kavdnt : sub-division, 112.
Kiveri : river, 6.

Kiyatia : a BrAhman sub-division, 23.
Kdzi : a Musalmto judicial officer, 236.
Kbdkhi : a Hindu religious order, 25.
KhadAyata : caste of, 23, 24.
Kbinpur : sub-division, 123.
Kheddval : a Brahman sub-division, 23.
Kim : river, 6.

Kolis : sub-divisions, character, religion, customs,
32-33 ; C 189 ; plundered Hum^yun (1535), 217.
Kukarda : sub-division, 98.
Kukrej : place of interest, 162.
Kumdrika Ksbetra: 2li, 216, footnote 2.
Kutbi Kbinum ; minister (1783), 230.

Labouring classes : 25.

Lac Trade : 53.

Ld,d : caste of, 24.

Lilia : story of, 123, footnote 2.

Land : R. K- landholders, management, villages,
67-68 ; staff, aUenated lands, assessment, cesses,
69-73 ; rent how realized, instalments, defaults,
reforms, survey, boundary disputes, 73-76 ; 0.
landholders, assessment, how levied, 234-235.

Land Trade : C 194.

Leather : workers in, R. K. 25 ; manufacture of,
0. 188, footnote 7 ; 191, footnote 9.

Lepers: 21.

Libraries : 88.

Limestone : H-

Limodra : R- K- place of interest, 162 ; 0. 206.

Lundv^da : state, 1, 2 ; area, boundaries, rivers,
hills, climate, population, sub-divisions, history,
family tree, 121 - 131 ; place of interest, 163.

Hicbbi : caste of, 25.

Madbuvati: river, 6.

Magistrates : 77.

Mabddev ' temple of Dehjaria, 124.

Mabi : R. K. river, 3 ; passage of the river (1670),

183, footnote,
Mabmud Begada: King (1459-1513), 189, 217.
Mdkni : place of interest, 164.
Males ; proportion of, in population, R. K. 20 ;

0. 184.
Mdndva : state, 142 ; place of interest, 164.
Manure : 38.
Manufactures : K. K, 56-58 ; 0. 198-209.

270

INDEX.

Manufacturers : see Craftsmen.

Mardthis in Cambay : 221, 226, 231.

Marco Polo : traveller (1290), 206, 216.

MdtdpenSi : hill, 8,

Mdru : caste of, 24.

Mavalis : west Deccau Mariithds, 226.

Measures : see Weights and Measures.

Men : river, 5.

Mercantile classes : see Traders.

Merchants : character of Hindu, 193, footnote 3 ;

as brokers, 193, footnote 7.
Mevdda : a BrAhman sub- division, 23.
Mevali : state, 149,
Migration: 36-37.
Minerals : 11 .

Mirza Teman : minister (1780), 229, 230.
Modll : caste of, 23, 24.
Moghals: (1573-1730), 21&
Mohan : place of interest, 164.
Moka Pagina Muvdda : state, 150.
Mokhdi Ghduta : place of interest, 165.
Motd^la : a Brdhman sub-division, 23.
Mota Sdja : place of interest, 165.
Momin Khd,n Dehlami : (1725), 222.
Momin Khin I. : JSTawdb (1730-1743), 222.
Momin Khan II. : „ (1748 -1783), 225-230.
III.: „ (1789-1823), 231-232.
IV.: „ (1823-1841), 232.
v.: „ (1841-1880), 232.
Money Lenders : see Capitalists.
Muhammad Kuli : ruler, (1783 - 1789), 231.
Muhammad TughUk : Emperor (1325 - 1351),216.
Musalmdns : R. K. 34 ; C. 185.
Mutiny : (1857), 63, 64.

Nagar : place of interest, 257.

Nigars : caste of, 22, 24.

Naghera : old town, 214, footnote 6.

NahAra : este, 151.

Nd,ikdds : tribe of, 34 ; risings of, 62, 64.

Najam Khin : governor (1737 - 1748), 223.

ITalia : estate, 145.

ITand : island, 6.

Nandarva : sub-division, 124.

NAndod : sub-division, 97 ; place of interest, 165.

N^ndoda : a Brahman sub-division, 23.

Ndngim : state, 144.

Warbada : river, 4.

NArukot state: boundaries, agriculture, trade,
history, land administration, justice, police, jail,
revenue and finance, instruction, health, places
of interest, 173 - 178.

Nasv5,di : state, 146.

Naw&hS : rulers of Cambay (1730 - 1880), 221 - 233.

Netrang : sub-division, 98.

Nima : caste of, 24.

Occupations of the people : 22.

Oflfences : number of, 79, 82.
Ogilby : traveller (1670), 219.
Orsang : river, 2, 110.

PaMsni : state, 146-147.

Pinam: river, 4 ; 121.

Pd,ndarv4da : sub-division, 122.

Pdndu : estate, 153.

Pdndu Mehvis : states, 1, 2, 148 - 194..

Panetha: sub-division, 97-

Pd,nipat: battle of (1761), 228.

Pintld.vdi : estate, 147.

Pdnvad : sub-division, 112.

Paper : manufacture of, 189.

Parsis : K. K. 35 ; 0. 185 ; as merchants, 189, 215^
216, footnote 2.

Pdtaners : marauders, (1720), 220.

Pateliyis : cultivators, 24.

Personal Servants : 25.

Physical Features : see Aspect.

PUdji (Jiikwdr : (il25), 221.

Pirates : 188, 194.

Pirzadis : a Musalmdn sect, 35.

Plants : 14.

Poicha : state, 153.

Police : cost, strength, working, 80-82; C. 237.

Population: census of 1872, distribution, sex, age,
religion, 19-21; occupation, race, 22-35; town,
and country population, dwellings, 35 ; people-
able to read and write, 87 ; C. 184 ; town and
village population, 185 - 186 ; people able to read'
and write, 238.

Portuguese : as traders, and lords of the sea, 189,^
190, 217.

Porvdd : caste of, 24.

Post : H- K. 51 ; 0, 238,

Prathampur : place of interest, 166.

Prices : R. K. 43 - 44 ; C. 209.

Private Schools : 86.

Pupils : ni^mber and race of, 88.,

Eaeka : estate, 152,

Railway : trafSc, 259.

Eainfall: E. K. 10; C. 182..

Kdjgad : sub- division, 117.

RAjpar : state, 152.

Rdjpipla : state, 1,2; boundaries, aspect, riversy
hills, 91 - 93 ; ohmate, trees, population, soil and.
crops, roads, trade, manufactures, administrativei
sub-divisions, 94-98 ; history, early Hindu, Musal-
mdji ascendancy(1390-1720) ;Maratha interference
(1720 - 1820); British supervision (1820- 1879) ;.
family tree, 99-110 ; place of interest, 166 - 167.

Rajputs : 24.

R4j Vdsna : sub-division, 112.

INDEX.

271

Sdmpur : place of interest, 167.

Bimpura : state, 145.

Bandhikpur : sub-division, 116.

Batanmdl : hills, 2.

Batanpur : place of interest, 167-

B&vania : village officer, 237.

Beligion : 21.

Began : state, 146.

Bevenue and Finance : E. K. 83- 85; C, 237-238.

Bice : varieties of, 247 footnote 3.

BiotS : at Cambay (1094- 1143^ 215.

Bivers ;R. K. 3-6;C. 181.

Boads : 46 - 49.

Bundha : sub-division, 98.

Sdbarmati: river, 1 81.

SacMn = state, area, climate, production, popula-
tion, dwellings, villages, crops, wages and prices,
roads, ferries, manufactures, history, land adminis-
tration, justice, registration fee ; police, revenue
and finance, duties, cesses, instruction, health,
town, 258 - 265.

Sadids : Musalmdn carriers, 185,

Sd:gb^ra : mountain range, 3 ; state, 98.

Sligtdla : sub-division, 117.

Salt Works : 208.

SAlbai : treaty of (1783), 230.

Scarcity : years of, 40.

Sanjala : place of interest, 168.

Sanjeli : state l, 2 ; 155 - 156.
Sankheda Meliv£s : states, l, 2 ; area, boundaries,
history, sub -divisions, 140 - 148.

Schools : E. K. 86-88 ; C. 238-239.

Shnklatirth : island, 6.

Sihora : state, 150.

Skambhtirth: 211, 212.

Soap : manufacture of, 57.

Sindiipura : state, 143.

Soil Varieties : E. K. 38 ; c. 183.

Sorath : rulers of (315 b. c. - 1300 a. d.) 213, foot-
note 1.

Staff: judicial, 77; C. 235.

Stones for Building : H-

Snntb : state, l, 2; area, boundaries, aspect, rivers,
hills, climate, soil and produce, population, sub-
divisions, history, development, family tree,
131- 136 ; place of interest, 169.

Snrat : rival of Cambay, 195.

Slirp&n : place of interest, 169.

Sursi : sub-division, 111.

Syed ; a Musalm^n sub-division, 35.

T.
Tarav : river, 92.
TalAja : fort of, 228-220.
Tavernier : traveller (I66O), 220.

Targol : sub-division, 112.

Tejgad : sub-division, 112.

Thava : sub-division, 98.

Thevenot : traveller (1666), 219 note 5.

Tieffenthaler : traveller (1750), 225.

Tillage : E. K, 38 ; C. 183.

Trade : E, K. exports, imports, trade returns, 51,
56 ; C. course of, tenth, eleventh, twelfth,
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, 187,
189 ; sixteenth century, marts, ports, exports,
imports, traders, routes, harbour, 190-194;
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 195 - 196 ;
nineteenth century, trade returns, imports, ex-
ports, shipping, 196-198.

Traders : 24.

TrambdrVati : legend of, 212, 213, 214.

Trees : E, K. 12. 14 ; C. 183.

U.
Uchid : state, 146.
TJdepur : place of interest, 169.
IJmad ; caste of, 24.
Umeta : state, 151.
Untia Vd.gll : camel tiger, 184.

V,
Vddi : estate, 98.
Vaccination : statistics of, 90.
VagheMs: rulers of Cambay (1240-1304), 215.
Vakhtapur : estate, 151.
Vanjara: carriers, 25.
Vardhdri : sub-division, 124.
Varnol Mil : state, 151.
Varnoli : estates, 153.
VastupAl : governor <1241), 215.
V4san: state, 144.
VerAs : cesses, E. K. 85 ; C. 238.
Vikram III : (5th century), 213.
Village Conuminities : see Communities.
Virpur : sub-division 137 ; state, 146, place of

interest, 170.
Virampura : state, 146.
Vindhya Mountains : 2.
Vora : state, 144.
Vydsji : island 6.

Wages : E. K. 42 ; C. 210.
Water-supply: E. K. 7; C. 182.
Weavers of Gujard,t : (1620), 192 footnote 5.
Weights and Measures : R. K. 44 ; C. 210.
Wild animals : E. K, 17 ; C. 183.
Wood work : 191 footnote 6,

Y.
Years of Scarcity : see Scarcity.

Z.
Zafar Khin : ruler (139M411), 217.

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